The New Kid at Goode High School
by JuicyFruity39
Summary: Annabeth Chase just wants to have a good eleventh grade year with no bullies and no drama but when she meets a new student Percy Jackson, her life gets a little complicated. Includes Luke, Thalia, Travis, Connor, Grover, Katie and more. Percabeth and a little bit of Thuke and Tratie. Rated T cuz of swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my very first Fanfiction. I hope you guys like it!**

**I don't own ANY characters (except for the ones that I made up of course). All PJO rights belong to Rick Riordan.**

_Chapter One_

"Annabeth! It's time to get up!" Annabeth Chase's mom shouted.

Annabeth moaned and rolled over to look at the time. It was only 6:15. "Five more minutes," She grumbled as she put a pillow over her head and attempted to fall back asleep.

Soon enough the door to Annabeth's room was opened and her mother, Athena Chase, stood in front of her. Athena's curly hair was put into a sloppy bun and she had her cooking apron on covering her business suit. "Annabeth Chase, you are going to be late for your first day of school!"

Annabeth groaned again. She had almost forgotten. Today was the beginning eleventh grade at Goode High School. "Okay, I'm up!" Annabeth said, throwing the pillow off of her head. She kicked the sheets off as she continued, "I'll be out in a minute." Athena smiled and then briskly left.

Annabeth got out of her bed and quickly began to sort through her closet. Eventually, she picked out a pair of hot pink shorts and a white tank top. After getting dressed, Annabeth grabbed her bag full of books and walked into the kitchen where her mother was slaving away at a batch of pancakes, eggs and bacon.

"Smells good," Annabeth noted as she sat down on the kitchen table. Athena turned around, holding a huge plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes and set them down in front of Annabeth, who quickly dug in.

Athena took a seat in front of Annabeth. Her mother was eating a small bowl of oatmeal that was coated with tons of dried fruit. "So any good classes, today?" Athena asked, sipping her coffee.

"Just architecture."

"Following the family business, I see," Athena said with a smile. Her mother ran one of biggest architecture companies in New York. Annabeth was planning on getting a job there for the summer and for the rest of the senior year. Malcolm, her older brother, was already working there. "Do you have any classes with your friends?"

"I have homeroom, math and PE with Thalia and Katie. And science with Juniper and Clarisse."

"What about the Stoll Twins, Luke, Grover or Nico?"

Annabeth scoffed, "I wouldn't necessarily say I was friends with the Stoll Twins." Connor and Travis Stoll, often times referred as the Stoll Twins, were the biggest pranksters in Goode High School. Their most frequent target was one of Annabeth's closest friends: Katie Gardner, who's neighbors and has every class with the Connor and Travis. "But yeah, I have few classes with them. And Luke and Grover." Luke Castellan and Grover Underwood had been Annabeth's best friends since fifth grade when she first moved to New York. She was being picked on by the school bully since she was about ten thousand times smarter than anybody in the class and Luke and Grover had the guts to stand up to him. They've been friends ever since.

"What classes?"

"Everything but math, architecture and homeroom."

Before Athena could reply, her cell phone went off. She answered it quickly. "Hello? Really? Yes. I'll be right." Athena hung up and then started to clear her bowl in a hurry. "Annabeth," she said after downing the rest of her coffee, "I need to get to work. Malcolm said that a blueprint is missing. Do you mind calling Thalia for a ride to school?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Sure." Annabeth would have driven herself to school but her car is in the shop.

"Okay. I'll love you," Athena said, kissing the top of Annabeth's forehead before grabbing her brief case, car keys, purse and then ran off.

After Annabeth called Thalia, she cleared her plate and went off to her bathroom. She brushed her teeth, combed her curly blonde hair and put it into a high ponytail. She smiled at herself in the mirror before grabbing her bag and slipping on a pair of old sneakers. When Annabeth was all ready to go, she took out of her phone and texted Thalia that she was waiting out front.

Outside, Annabeth felt the warm air of New York on her bare arms. She loved New York. She loved the city, the way that drivers would yell at each other and she loved the architecture.

Suddenly, she heard a honking. In front of her was Annabeth's best friend Thalia Grace. As she stood up, she realized that Luke Castellan was sitting in the driver's seat and had his arms all over Thalia. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Luke and Thalia had started dating at the beginning of summer after a whole year of them constantly telling their friends how much they liked each other. Eventually, Silena Beauregard, a friend of Annabeth's, who goes to a finishing school for girls, demanded Luke and Thalia to ask each other out.

"Hey Annie!" Thalia shouted. Now, unless you knew Thalia, you would be _terrified _of her just because of her looks. Thalia has layered jet black that's always down unless she's working and every day, no matter what she always wears black eyeliner. She's into wearing things like punky clothes, spiky bracelets and skull earrings.

"Hop in!" Luke said as he fiddled with Thalia's hair. Luke had a sandy hair was trimmed regularly and icy blue eyes. He wore casual khaki shorts and an orange t-shirt.

Annabeth got into the back seat. "Ready for eleventh grade?!" Thalia asked, smirking.

"Let's just hope it's not as bad as tenth," Annabeth said. She _detested _tenth grade.

Luke grinned as he started the car, "Let's hope."

Annabeth hated the tenth grade for one reason: Rachel Elizabeth DareAKA Annabeth's number one biggest enemy and rival. They used to best friends: always going to each other houses, telling each about their life and sharing secrets. They had a friendship where all they did was insult each other one minute, then be nice to each other next. Usually, their insults wouldn't be very mean but at the beginning of tenth grade, Rachel starting making fun of how Annabeth looked, acted and her talents. Sometime in the middle of November of tenth grade, Annabeth just had enough and completely turned against Rachel. Luke, Thalia, Katie, Juniper, Clarisse, the Stoll Twins, Chris, Nico and Grover did the same. Rachel was outright furious and from that day forward, she vowed to make Annabeth's life a living hell. She told everyone Annabeth's secrets and bullied her. Rachel's friends, who are basically a group of brainless girls who were nothing but tank tops and short skirts, and her boyfriend, Mark O'Brien, who is considered the school's biggest bully, would pick on Annabeth relentlessly. Eventually, Annabeth wanted to drop out of school because the bullying was so bad until one day all of her friends got revenge on Rachel. The Stoll Twins and Grover pranked Rachel's friends. Luke and Nico threatened Mark while Clarisse and Chris nearly sent all of Mark's friends to the hospital while Katie, Thalia and Juniper embarrassed Rachel so badly that she left school early that day. After that, Rachel and Mark left Annabeth alone.

"Hopefully Rachel and Mark will keep their distance," Annabeth said.

"And if they don't, I'll be glad to yell at Rachel again," Thalia promised.

Luke chuckled, "And I promise to kick Chris's ass for you, Annie."

Annabeth grinned. "I must just have to take you up on that offer."

**So, I know that this is kind of a boring chapter. I really need to set up the story and introduce the characters. I know that in lots of stories, Luke is usually the bad guy and Thalia and Nico are dating but I wanted to do something different. So if you're Thuke fans, then this is a good story for you!**

**Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO characters. Rick Riordan does!**

**Please read and review!**

_Chapter Two_

After twenty minutes, Luke finally pulled into the parking lot of Goode High School. Annabeth, Thalia and Luke strode up the cement stairs confidently. Annabeth could see out of the corner of her eyes, Rachel Elizabeth dressed in a too short red dress and Mark with his hands wrapped around Rachel's waist. Eventually, they made it to the door way where they were greeted by Nico Di Angelo, Grover Underwood and his girlfriend Juniper.

Nico was wearing one of his signature skull and cross bone shirts (he has this odd obsession with Death). He had pierced ears and an annoyed expression. Grover and Juniper were holding hands and they were wearing matching _Save the EARTH _t-shirts. They were both pretty big environmentalists.

"Skull and cross bones!" Luke said, with a chuckle. Nico rolled his eyes. Whenever he's wearing a shirt that has a skull, Luke always called him that and Nico hates it.

"Hey Nico," Annabeth said with a smile. She hugged Juniper and then greeted Grover.

"So who's excited for eleventh grade?" Juniper squealed as they began walking down the hallway filled with lockers.

"Yeah, another year a BORING school stuff," Nico mumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Wow. Try not to sound too excited there," Luke smirked, ruffling Nico's hair. Nico swatted Luke's hand away. "Hey, at least the Stoll Twins hasn't bothering us yet."

As if on cue, Annabeth overheard a familiar voice behind us. "Did someone call for us?"

The friends groaned and turned. Travis and Connor Stoll were strutting through the hallway. They were wearing basketball shorts and a matching t-shirt. Their hair was a huge curly brown mess. Trailing behind them was Clarisse, her hair in bun, her arm muscles exposed and her boyfriend Chris, wearing shorts and white t-shirt.

"And here they come," Thalia groaned. She hated the Stoll Twins almost as much as Katie Gardner.

"Hey Thals!" Travis said, putting his hand on Thalia's shoulder. All she had to do was glare at him and quickly enough Travis took his arm off of her.

"Don't you guys have someone to prank?" Thalia snapped.

Connor shrugged, grinning. "We have a couple people planned out. Tell me, since Katie is so into gardens and stuff, do you think she'll like a locker full of worms?" Katie Gardner and her mother, Demeter, are HUGE garden fans. Demeter owns one of the biggest gardens in New York. Katie sometimes works there whenever she has free time.

"Stoll," Luke said while trying to stifle a chuckle, "She'll kill you."

"You see," Travis replied, smugly, "That's a chance a whiling to take."

"Don't you have anybody else to prank?" Juniper asked, while grabbing Grover's arm and it putting it around her shoulder.

"No!" Travis shouted. "There's NO ONE good enough to replace Katie."

"And why is that?" Clarisse challenged.

"Because she's hot!" Travis cried. They turned to look at Travis with raised eyebrows. Everyone knew that Travis had a thing for Katie but not once as Travis said anything like _that_. "I mean," he said, awkwardly, "She's hot because she's angry. She's got...um...never mind." He glanced at Connor before running off in the direction of his locket.

Connor sighed, "I should probably go after him. Catch up with you guys later." Connor quickly ran off shouting for Travis to slow down.

"You gotta love those guys," Luke snickered, locking hands with Thalia in the process. "We should probably go to our lockers, right, Thals?" Luke and Thalia managed send a special request and now they have lockers side by side.

Thalia shrugged, "Class is going to start soon. See you guys at class." Thalia quickly kissed Luke on the lips before they turned hand in hand and walked toward their lockers.

After they left, Annabeth and the rest of their dispersed off to their lockers. Her locker was a lot farther than the rest but on the bright side, it was close to most of her classes except for PE and architecture. She entered her combination and then threw some books into her locket. She already had pictures of her friends taped on her locker door: a picture of her, Grover and Luke when they were younger, a couple shots of the gang and then a few of her, Thalia, Juniper, Clarisse, and Silena Beauregard on a girls' night out. She smiled as she remembered the fond memories and then closed her locker. She began to fumble through her bag and pull out the books and supplies she needed for her first class, which was English.

Suddenly, she hit something, hard. "Ooomph!" She went as she fell onto the ground, dropping her books and pens. As she looked up, she gasped. She had run into a boy with stunning green eyes and wild, raven hair. "Um, sorry," she muttered as she began to pick her books and pens.

"No problem," He said, casually.

As Annabeth reached for another of her books, the boy had reached it first, along with the rest of her things. They stood up and the boy handed her books and pens back to her. "Thanks," she said, as she took her books.

He shrugged. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson."

He held out his hand. Annabeth hesitated but eventually extended hers. "I'm Annabeth Chase. It's nice to meet you." Annabeth and Percy shook hands. His felt so warm against her icicle hands. She smiled as she examined his oceany eyes. "You're eyes are nice," She all of a sudden said. Immediately, after it she said it, Annabeth mentally slapped herself. "I mean – um…," she trailed off. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "That was weird for me to say when I already know."

"It's fine. I think your eyes are pretty too."

Annabeth blushed. "Thanks," She said, gazing into Percy's eyes. For a moment, they both stood their staring at each other, which gave Annabeth to the opportunity to examine him. He was wearing stylist shorts, a tight fight blue shirt and black converses. He was muscular and the perfect, most flawless skin. "Um…," she mumbled. Percy grinned. Annabeth blushed and she a felt smiling forming.

Suddenly, someone spoke and Annabeth's melted. She _knew _that voice too well. "For once, someone has silenced Annabeth's _huge _mouth."

Annabeth scowled, "Rachel." She spun around, her voice dripping with hatred.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was staring smugly at Percy and Annabeth. Her extremely curly red hair that was streaked with high lights was pulled up into a tight bun and she was wearing the ugliest, most sparkly pink dress imaginably. The black wedges she had on gave her at least three or four inches of height. Mark was hovering about Rachel, his hand rested on her upper thigh. Rachel had her expensive bag slung over her shoulder.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Rachel said, stepping out of Mark's grasp. "Annabeth Chase and a new boy." She leaned up close to Percy's face. "A cute new boy, might I add," Rachel whispered under her breath so that only Percy and Annabeth could hear her.

"What the hell do you want Rachel?" Annabeth snapped, gripping her backpack tightly. If worse comes to worse, she would use her backpack as a weapon to hit Rachel with.

"Oh, Annie," Rachel said. She put her hand over her heart and pouted, as if she was hurt. "We used to be friends!"

"Key words: _used to be_," Annabeth shouted. "Then you turned into a mega bitch."

"Oh, I turned into the mega bitch?! What happened to little Miss 'Turn All My Friends Against Me?' I say _that _was pretty low," Rachel retorted. Annabeth hesitated. Rachel did have point. Annabeth did, after all, convince her friends that Rachel was a devil spawn. The day after everyone turned against Rachel, it was rumored she was crying in the bathroom stalls. Annabeth did feel bad at first but she learned to get over it over time.

"Well, what happened to person that bullied me every day?!"

Rachel snickered. "Bullied? Wow! You are such a baby! Get over yourself."

"Don't talk to her like that!" Someone yelled. Annabeth turned, excepting to Grover but it was Percy.

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "What's it to you?!"

"Leave her _alone_," Percy growled. His voice and face even frightened Annabeth.

"Is there a problem here?" A familiar voice asked. Annabeth turned around and saw Chris, Clarisse, Katie Gardner and the Stoll Twins. "Because, if you don't remember last year," Katie continued, "I can destroy you."

Rachel scoffed. "I can always just call my mom. You know, she's still trying to decide whether or not to stop funding your mother's ugly. This might help make decision." Katie let a small gasp. It's true. Mrs. Dare, one of the richest investors in New York, helps pay for the flowers in Demeter's garden. Without the Dare's help, the garden would go broke.

"You wouldn't do that," Katie whispered meekly.

"Wanna test me?" Rachel challenged.

"Leave her alone," Travis interjected.

"Whatever," Rachel said. "I'll see you around…Annabeth." And then before Annabeth could sneak another insult in, Rachel turned on her heels and left.

"What was that about?" Percy asked when Rachel and Mark were long gone.

Annabeth shrugged. "Just some girl that I used to be friends with. We had a little misunderstanding last year so she tried to make my life miserable. She and her little annoying boyfriend would tease me every day. It got so bad that I wanted to switching schools. Lucky for me, I have good friends."

"Good thing you have good friends," Percy muttered with a smile. "Gotta go," he said with a grin and then sprinted off to one of his classes.

"Wait!" Annabeth yelled after him. "Come back!" But he never did. And for the rest of the day, Annabeth just couldn't forget Percy Jackson.

**I know the ending was a kind of bad but anyway, I hope you liked the little Percabeth and Thuke moment.**

**I know that it might sound a little bit more like a drama thing between Annabeth and Rachel, or at least it might to me, but I promise that a lot of Percabeth stuff is coming up! Just wait! I might put in a little bit more Thuke and Tratie but I'm not sure yet.**

**By the way, sorry if the characters don't sound like the characters…..**

**Reviews please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO Characters. All rights belong to Rick Riordan.**

_Chapter Three_

As Annabeth sat down in her English class beside Katie Gardner, Annabeth couldn't help but think about the new kid, Percy Jackson. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget his gorgeous green eyes or his untamable hair. She couldn't help but blush ever time she thought about how he picked up her books or how he defended her when he hardly even knew her.

"Annabeth? Annabeth?!" She heard someone say. Katie snapped her figures in front of Annabeth's face, snapping Annabeth out of her trance. "How come you were whispering Percy over and over again?"

Annabeth's intense gray eyes widened. She did what?! "No way did I do that."

Katie rolled her eyse. She began fiddle with her bone-straight brown hair as she pressed on. "You _totally_ said his name. You like him! You like Percy Jackson!"

Annabeth blushed. "No…I don't. He's just –, he's nice."

"Yeah, nice _looking_," Katie scoffed. "Annabeth Chase has a crush on Percy Jackson."

"What about Percy Jackson?" A voice said. Katie and Annabeth spun around. Annabeth nearly passed out. Percy Jackson was standing right in front of Katie and Annabeth. "You said my name?"

"Oh! Hey Percy!" Annabeth said a little bit too enthusiastically. Katie just snickered, quietly. Annabeth shot Katie a glare and then quickly turned back to Percy. "Um, here. You can sit with me." Annabeth quickly cleared off Katie's things and nearly pushed her off of her chair. "It's open."

"Annabeth!" Katie shouted as Percy took her seat. "There's no other place to sit!"

"There's one back there," Percy said. He pointed to back of the classroom to an open seat beside Connor Stoll. Travis had PE right now.

Katie narrowed her eyes as Connor winked at her. "No! No way! I am not sitting with a Stoll!" While Percy was looking away, Annabeth gave Katie her biggest and best puppy dog face ever. Katie sighed. "_Fine_!" She growled as she grabbed her books and went to sit by Connor Stoll.

"So, you really wanted me to sit with you enough to make your friend sit with her worst enemy?" Percy asked, grinning.

Annabeth blushed and kept her eyes on her books as she responded, "I don't think Connor is her worst enemy. I think his brother, Travis, is."

Percy chuckled. "So why did you want to sit with me?"

"I guess I just wanted to get to know you a little bit better," Annabeth said, smiling. Percy smirked. "So where are you from?"

"Montana." **(A/N I know in the books Percy never moved anyway but in this he does.) **Percy twirled a pencil in his hands as he continued, "I lived there until this year when my mom remarried someone. He wanted us all to live in New York and for some dumb reason she listened." Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Oh! No, no, no! Don't get me wrong. I love New York, I just…."

"Don't like your stepdad?" Annabeth interjected.

"Yeah," Percy said. "How'd you know?"

"You should have heard your tone of voice," Annabeth clarified. "It's what everybody that hates their stepparents are like. Trust me, I would know. Thalia, one of my friends, and I have a bitchy stepmoms. On the bright side, Thalia has a good dad but mine just agrees to anything my stepmom has to say. Sometimes, just by the way my parents look at me, I feel like they don't actually want. One day when I got home, my stepmother started screaming at me about how much a terrible. I don't know why. She was just mad. And the worst part was my dad sat there right at the kitchen table just staring at us. That night, I packed my bags and I left to stay with Thalia. That lasted for about a week until my dad finally called me up and said 'Annabeth, I want you back.' But it was a week too late. I stayed with Thalia for a couple more days until my dad finally barged into her house and dragged me home. Three days later, my stuff was packed and I moved in with my actual mom." **(A/N I know that that's not how Annabeth's life was in the book but I wanted to dramatize it a little bit more.)**

Percy stared at Annabeth, appalled. He hated his stepfather, Gabe Uglianobut he would never move out of his own house. Percy wouldn't do that to his mother. "Do you miss your family?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I miss Bobby and Mathew, my two younger step-brothers. Their twins. I sometimes miss my dad but I don't miss living with him or with my stepmom. Bobby and Mathew and rarely my dad come to visit but I haven't seen Violet **(A/N Annabeth's stepmom. I don't remember her original name) **in over three months." Annabeth felt tears well up in her eyes and she immediately tried to swallow them back. She hated to seem weak in front of people.

Percy impulsively pulled her into a tight hug. Annabeth hesitated but eventually she returned the embrace. "Everything's going to be okay," Percy muttered as he gently rubbed his hand against her back in calm, soothing motions. "What's your mom like?" He asked when they pulled apart.

"Athena, my mom, is great. She's always at work, though, which was why my dad got full custody of me when I was younger. She's an architect at this HUGE company. My older brother, Malcolm, works there. And yeah, he also hates Violet. But anyway, when I do get to spend time with my mom, it's great. She's funny, nice and smart. She's just like me."

Percy smiled, "That's good." Annabeth realized that Percy was genuinely glad for her and suddenly Annabeth had the instinctive impulse to kiss him. When she did, it was like her very own moment of Cloud Nine. He smelled _amazing_, like fresh ocean air and wood and his breath tasted minty. His lips were smooth and soft.

Someone cleared their throat. Annabeth and Percy reluctantly pulled apart only to realize that they were face to face with the Mr. Carson, their English teacher. "Miss Chase and Mr. Jackson if you don't mind, can you keep the tongue baths for _after _class? Thank you." Then, he turned and started his lecture.

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other. Percy uncomfortably began to tap his pen on his desk while Annabeth opened up her English book and began taking notes, even though she hardly know most of what Mr. Carson was saying. As she began to take perfect notes, she realized that instead of writing down information on the lecture all across her paper was:

"_I kissed Percy Jackson_."

**So, what'd you think? Was it dumb that Annabeth all of sudden just kissed Percy?**

**I hope you liked the introduction of Annabeth's family. They do play an important part in the book. **

**I know that this chapter might be a little bit short but I'm plainly on having the next be just a little bit longer.**

**Read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan does.**

_Chapter Four_

When the bell rang, Annabeth bolted out of her chair, grabbed Katie by the hand and thrust her out of the door. She was practically sprinting down the hall until she finally reached her locker, which was right beside Katie's. Annabeth had at least five minutes before her next class, so she could feel free to rant about Percy.

"I just," Annabeth said while beginning to hyperventilate. "Made out with…."

"Percy Jackson," Katie finished to Annabeth. "Yeah. The _whole _class saw. I can't believe Mr. Carson talked about tongue baths." Katie faked a shiver. Annabeth stared at Katie with annoyed wide-eyes. She still hasn't stopped hyperventilated. "Girl, take a chill pill! I don't even think Percy cares that much. See? He's over there by his locker and getting ready for his next class. Stop freaking out. Just take deep breathes. Deep breathes."

"Hey Annie!" Annabeth hear Thalia yell. "I can't believe you locked lips with Percy. Nico's going to freak."

"Wait, why would Nico care?" Katie asked.

"Percy and Nico's cousin. _Duh_," Thalia scoffed. "Besides, you two making out is all the school!"

"Shit," Annabeth cursed. "I have to get to PE. Do you know where Luke is? We're supposed to walk together."

"Down there, talking to Nico and the Stoll Twins." Thalia pointed in their general direction.

"Thanks," Annabeth muttered as she nearly sprinted off to Luke.

The next couple of periods were fun, mostly because Percy _wasn't _in them. PE was okay, even though Rachel Elizabeth Dare was there. Architecture was fun, of course. Her mother was even mentioned in the presentation. Math was okay, pretty boring though. Of course, having Juniper, Chris and Clarisse made the class more fun. Now, Annabeth was being accompanied to lunch by Juniper, Chris and Clarisse where they would meet up with the rest of her friends.

Inside the cafeteria, people were bustling around, trying to steal any open spot. The populars were pushing people aside and forcing their way to a table farthest away from the entrance. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Mark and their friends occupied the table directly in front of the populars. Then there were the jocks, who walked in and stole a couple of nerds food before getting their table. A new wave of freshmen students desperately tried to find a table without getting in the way of huge seniors.

Finally, Annabeth laid eyes on her and friends. Luke was picking at a piece of cheese pizza while keeping one arm Thalia. The Stoll Twins were pointing at different people and talking about new pranks that they were going carry about while Katie and Grover were having a conversation about the environment. Then, Annabeth laid eyes on Nico and Percy. She stiffened but then she felt Juniper nudge her on the back. Quickly, Clarisse, Chris and Juniper took their seats. Then, Annabeth realized that the only open spot was by Percy. Annabeth sighed, irritated, as she sat beside him. Annabeth awkwardly looked at him but when Percy refused to make eye contact with her, she narrowed her eyes. _Was he trying to ignore me? Was it that bad?_

"Everyone," Nico said, "I'd like you to meet Percy, my cousin. This is Luke, Thalia, Juniper, Chris, Clarisse, Travis and Connor Stoll, Katie, Grover and Annabeth." Percy nodded and smiled. "Try to make him feel welcome."

"Yo sis!" Someone called out from a distant. Annabeth turned around to see a golden blonde haired boy bound toward them. Behind him were a girl with curly hair and earthy green eyes and an elfish boy with curly black hair and dark brown eyes. Annabeth swore that she heard Thalia growl. "Thalia!"

"Wait a second," Annabeth said, "_This _is your brother?!"

"Yes," Thalia snapped.

"I don't see the resemblance," Nico said, jokingly. "He's much better looking."

"Shut it, Di Angelo," Thalia snarled before facing her brother. "Jason, what are you doing here? What part of 'leave me alone in school' don't you understand?"

Jason shrugged. "I wanted to meet your friends." He faced Annabeth. "Hello," he said in a flirtatious voice, "I'm Jason."

The girl hit Jason on the shoulder. "Sorry about him. My _boyfriend_ can be a little bit of joker. I'm Piper McLean and that's Leo Valdez. Do you mind if we sit here?" Piper pointed to the remaining open seats besides Annabeth.

"Sure," Annabeth said, warmly.

"Thanks," Piper replied. Piper grabbed Jason's hand and she sat beside Annabeth. Leo squished himself at the very end. "So how were your first few classes?" Suddenly, Katie snickered. If Annabeth had been anywhere near Katie, she have kicked her so hard that there would be a bruise the size of a tulip. "What?" Piper asked, curiously.

"Nothing," Percy replied, speaking for the first time this whole lunch.

"Really? I thought I heard something interesting happened in English," Clarisse said mockingly.

"Nope," Percy replied, casually. Annabeth her eyebrows. _What did he just say_? "English was boring as ever. The teacher's really weird, though."

"Annabeth," Leo said, "You okay? You look like you just got punched in stomach."

Annabeth shrugged, "Everything's fine. Percy's right. _Nothing_," she snapped, sending Percy an irritated glare, "Happened in English.

For the rest of lunch, Annabeth didn't say one word. She didn't even listen to Jason while he told embarrassing stories of Thalia when they were younger, or listened to very long and boring debate about the earth or even paid any attention to how Piper and Jason met. She just couldn't forget about Percy. How could he just say that nothing happened in English? Didn't Percy like Annabeth almostas much as Annabeth likes Percy?

"Is everything okay?" Luke asked Annabeth after lunch and on their way to homeroom. Grover and Juniper were trailing behind them whispering to themselves. "You haven't been the same ever since lunch."

Annabeth looked up at Luke with huge, curious gray eyes. "Before you Thalia went out, did you have this moment where you sometimes wonder if Thalia didn't actually like you and that she wanted nothing to do with you at all?"

Luke grinned. "This is about Percy, isn't it?"

"Luke, just answer the question."

Luke sighed. "Yeah. There were times that I thought that Thalia wanted nothing to do with me."

"And what did you do?"

"Well, I tried to do it, too. I tried ignoring her. I tried to stop liking her but I couldn't."

"Then what?"

Luke shrugged, "I just tried to be her friend. I figured that even though she won't like me, it doesn't hurt to just be a friend that she can talk to and trust. Just being there for her is enough."

"Be good friends? That what you suggest?"

"Yeah."

_Okay_, Annabeth thought to her as she rounded the corner to her homeroom class, _just be friends_.

"Annabeth, homeroom is right there," Luke said, pointing to an open door. As Annabeth and Luke went inside, Annabeth froze. "Holy shit," Luke whispered.

Annabeth gasped. In front of her was Rachel Elizabeth Dare _kissing _Percy Jackson.

**Sorry, I had to do a cliffhanger! Don't worry, I make sure that people reading this finds out what happens to Percy and Rachel and how Annabeth will react.**

**If you have anyway suggestions, feel free to write a review. I promise I'll consider it.**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

_Chapter Five_

_"Annabeth, homeroom is right there," Luke said, pointing to an open door. As Annabeth and Luke went inside, Annabeth froze. "Holy shit," Luke whispered._

_Annabeth gasped. In front of her was Rachel Elizabeth Dare kissing Percy Jackson._

The first things that went through Annabeth mind was anger. And the second was a little voice inside of her commanding Annabeth to literally punch Rachel Elizabeth Dare straight in jaw.

"Oh my god," Annabeth whispered. "Is that Percy?!" Annabeth's fist clenched together. "Oh my god. OH MY GOD!"

"Annabeth," Luke said, urgently, clutching Annabeth's shoulder. "Try not to do anything stupid."

"Like what? Punch her in the face?"

"Yes."

Annabeth growled, "Well too late." And before Luke could do anything Annabeth ripped out of his grasp and charged after Rachel.

"Who's Rachel kissing?" Someone said behind Luke.

"Percy."

"What?!" Someone chuckled, "He's right behind us." Luke's eyes widened. He spun around and found Juniper staring at him with a confused expression. "We literally just talked to him. That's someone else. Wait, what's Annabeth about do?"

"I think we'll find out," Luke murmured as he turned his attention back to Annabeth.

She grabbed a hold of who she thought was Percy. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU –," Annabeth's voice faltered. An Asian boy that was shorter than Percy with brown confused eyes was staring at Annabeth. As Annabeth studied the boys' hair, she realized that it wasn't as untamed as Percy's. "Oh crap," Annabeth managed. She nearly threw the boy back, and he almost knocked into Rachel. "I'm so sorry. I…I thought you were someone else."

"Nice going Chase," Rachel sneered. She grabbed a hold of the boy and continued to her heated make out session. _What happened to Mark? _

Annabeth, whose face was nearly as red as a ripe strawberry, slowly trudged back to her friends. Luke, Juniper, Grover, Travis and Connor were clutching their sides, trying to suppress their laughter. "Shut up!" Annabeth snapped.

"I…cannot…believe…you just…yelled…at him," Luke said through chuckles.

"If you hadn't ran off from lunch, you would have known that Percy was _right _behind us," Juniper clarified. Her face was a little red and Annabeth could tell she was about to cry from laughter.

"Why didn't you stop me?!" Annabeth cried.

"Come on Annie," Travis smirked, "What do you think we would rather do? Stop you from public embarrassment or watch you make an ass out of yourself in front of the class. _Obviously_, we would have never stopped you." Annabeth punched Travis in the shoulder with all her might. "OW!" Travis screamed, clutching his arm. "What the hell was that?!"

"What do you think?!" Annabeth shouted. "This is the worst day of my life! First, I accidentally made out with this guy that I don't even know. And now, I just yelled at some random kid."

"You know what you need," Connor said, calmly. He put his arm around Annabeth's shoulder as he and the rest of Annabeth's friends led her to a group of open chairs. "You need to relax. Stop being so tense or over-analyzing everything little detail. You deserve a night out. In fact," Connor continued, leaning back on a metal chair, "We all do. Maybe we should get together at this little café with the karaoke."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. She knew perfectly well what café Connor was talking about. It was pretty small but Annabeth and her friends would go there every Friday in ninth grade and the beginning of tenth. There was a karaoke machine and sometimes she and her friends were jam out to tunes by Taylor Swift or Chris Brown. Now, Rachel Elizabeth Dare's hangout with her friends is at that the café and so Annabeth doesn't dare put one foot in there.

"I'm not sure," Annabeth muttered as Luke took the seat next to her. "You know that Rachel and her friends are always there."

"Except," Travis said with a grin, "Today. One of Rachel's friend, Drew something, is having a huge back to school party at her place. They're all going be there, which means the café is all ours tonight."

Luke beamed. "Sounds like I plan. I can talk to Thalia, Nico and Percy. What about you Annabeth? You in?"

Annabeth paused for second. _Percy? Would she want to spend more time with Percy? _Annabeth shrugged. "Why not?"

Travis laughed with excitement. "It's settled then. Let's meet at the karaoke place tonight."

**Ohhh! Not what you were expecting, were you? **

**I know that chapter is short but I'm planning on having the next chapter hopefully be longer (no guarentees.)**

**Hey my birthday is on the nineteenth! Wish me happy birthday :)**

**Review, please!**

**PS: I'm starting a new story called 'Goode High School for Insane Youths.' Check it out!**

**Here's a little preview:**

_"Where are you taking me?" I demanded, glaring at the two police officers. _

_One police officer, someone named Warren turned to look at me. "To a place for special people, like you."_

_"Special people? What are you talking?!" I stared down at the handcuffs binding my wrists. I struggled to break free me. "Just let me go!_

_"I'm afraid that I can't do that," Warren continued. "You're a killer, or at least_ attempted_ killer."_

_"Killer?!" I snapped. My mind flashed to when the kitchen knife as at my stepmother's throat. "The bitch deserved it! She was abusing my little brothers! I was just trying to protect them!"_

_"There is no evidence that your stepmother was abusing your younger brothers!" Warren snapped._

_"I don't care. She is! I have to go back!"_

_"Too bad, princess," Warren murmured. "We're here. Plenty far from your house."_

_"Where is here?" I shouted._

_Warren smirked, "Goode High School for Insane Youths."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**So, I know that the last few chapters have been kind of mushy but please just keep reading. It will get WAY better. **

**By the way, if you haven't checked out my new story 'Goode High School for Insane Youths' PLEASE do.**

_Chapter Six_

"ANNABETH!" Malcolm Chase shouted, disrupting everyone trying to do their job. "Sorry," he whispered in a quieter voice as he ran up to his sister. "I haven't seen you in ages!" He quickly grabbed Annabeth and pulled her into a tight bear hug. "How was your first day as a junior?"

"Let's see," Annabeth said as she point her finger to her temple, "I got into a big fight with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Met Thalia's young brother, his girlfriend and his friend. Met Nico's cousin. Yelled at some random kid. And made out with Nico's cousin."

Malcolm raised his eyebrows. "High school girls. I never understood them." Annabeth was glad that Malcolm had just laughed about it. She wasn't really in the mood to explain to her older brother what she was feeling right now, if she was feeling anything at all. "So," he said as he led Annabeth to his desk. He gestured for Annabeth to take a seat. "Do you have any plans tonight? Julia and I are planning on renting a movie." Julia is Malcolm's fiancée.

Annabeth sighed, "I would love to watch a movie with you but I actually have plans tonight. I'm going to that karaoke place tonight with my friends. I mean, we haven't done it in so long. Only because of…."

"Rachel." Malcolm said. Even though Malcolm was out of high school before Annabeth had even started ninth grade, he knew about Rachel. Annabeth tried to keep this a secret but one day when Annabeth was out grocery shopping, Rachel had cornered her and started teasing her in front of all of her friends. Annabeth ran out of the grocery store crying and went to the closest home, which was Malcolm's. She sobbed in his arms for almost an hour. "I'm glad that you're going back to the café. You really enjoyed it when you were younger."

"Yeah but then it became the devil spawn's lair," Annabeth scoffed.

Malcolm shrugged, "Is she going to be there?"

Annabeth shook her head, "No. She's going to be at a party."

"Oh. How were your classes?" Malcolm asked just to change the subject.

Annabeth shrugged, "They were pretty good."

"Cool."

"Annabeth!" Someone yelled. Annabeth looked up to see Athena walking briskly to Malcolm. "I didn't tell me that you were going to come here. I would have bought you take out."

"Mom," Annabeth said, "I'm just dropping by. I actually have a lot of homework."

"Oh, you have all night to do homework," Athena insisted.

"Mom, actually I'm going to karaoke at that café tonight – only if you don't mind."

Athena sighed, "I would like for my daughter to stay here but you are being responsible so I'll see you at home. Can you stop by the grocery store, though, and get these?" Athena pulled out a crumbled up piece of paper and handed it do Annabeth. Athena's neat scrawl was written all over the paper.

"Sure," Annabeth replied, smiling. She kissed her mother and then gave Malcolm a hug. "See you at home mom."

She had to walk to the grocery store since Luke and Thalia had left and lug three bags of groceries all the way to her house. When she got inside, she nearly dropped the grocery bags onto the kitchen counter. Sweat was collecting on her forehead and the back of her neck and her arms ached. She got herself a glass of water and put the groceries away before going to start the very small amount of homework she had received. All while she was figuring out math problems or trying to draw something for architecture class, Annabeth kept on checking the time. _Only another hour until 5:30. _Luke and Thalia were supposed to pick Annabeth up then to go karaoke.

By the time that it was 4:45, Annabeth went to go get ready. She took a hot shower before getting dressed and let her hair blonde fall into loose curls. Annabeth put some light makeup before running out of the steamy bathroom. It was 5:20. For the last ten minutes, Annabeth impatiently packed up her homework, which had already finished, and put them into her backpack for tomorrow. She double checked to make sure that she had her wallet and cell phone in her purse.

Finally, Annabeth heard a knock on the door. She nearly ran over and tore it open. Waiting outside was Luke with his arm around Thalia. "Hey," Thalia said as she removed Luke's arm from around her shoulder. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Annabeth replied as she, Luke and Thalia began to go to Luke's car.

As they reached Luke's jeep, he stopped Annabeth. "Just wanna warn you, I'm giving some other people a ride, too."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. _Why would it matter? _"Um cool." Then, Annabeth opened the door and instantly her smile melted. "Oh, um, hi," Annabeth said awkwardly to Nico Di Angelo and his cousin Percy Jackson. She got into her seat by the window, which was right next to Percy. "I didn't know Percy was coming."

"Of course he was," Nico said, putting his arm around Percy's shoulder. "He's one of us."

Percy swatted Nico's hand away as he said, "So guys, are you ready to rock?!"

Thalia chuckled, "Percy, we don't usually do the singer ourselves. Most of them, we just watch people look like idiots."

"Last time we went, Travis and Connor recorded Katie Gardner singing _Gimme More _by Britney Spears," Luke recalled. "It was hilarious! You should have seen how angry Katie got. I swear, one of these days Katie is going to kill those two." Annabeth laughed.

After ten more minutes of telling Percy about fond memories from their ninth and tenth grade, they finally arrived at the Karaoke car. Inside, it was just like Annabeth remembered it: dim lighting, blue flashes of light here and there, couches with coffee tables in front of them, a bar, and an empty karaoke stage with a microphone and a huge machine where you read lyrics on it. Just being in here reminded Annabeth so much of when she used to come with her friends…and with Rachel.

"Annabeth and Thalia!" She heard someone squeal. Annabeth turned to see Silena Beauregard wearing a tight pink dress and black wedges. Her brown hair flowed down her back in tight curls and her face was covered with stunning makeup. She looked like she belonged on the pages of _Vogue Magazine_. "I'm so glad to see you!" She said as she hugged Annabeth and Thalia.

Silena was in her last year at a finishing school for girls. Annabeth and Thalia met Silena when they were at the mall. Silena was being harassed by Mark and Thalia and Annabeth helped Silena get out of the situation. Now, they're extremely close. Of course, Silena doesn't need Annabeth and Thalia's help anymore. Silena's used to tons of guys hitting on her. Most of the guys she'd walk by in the mall or sat _near _at restaurants would be flirting with her ever five seconds. Silena usually takes care of it but whenever she's with her boyfriend, this huge African American guy named Beckendorf, just him glaring at them is enough to send them running to their mothers. Beckendorf was 20 and in college. They've known each other for while but couldn't date because Silena was underage. Now that Silena was eighteen, they were with each other 24/7.

"Hey Silena," Annabeth said. "Hey Beck." Beckendorf, Chris and Clarisse were waiting at the biggest table in the café. Right now, they were having an arm wrestling competition between Beckendorf and Clarisse. It was a pretty fair fight.

"Let's call this a draw," Silena said as she put her manicured hand on Beckendorf's shaky arm.

"Fine," Beckendorf grunted. He and Clarisse released their hold. "I can't believe I couldn't beat a girl."

"_No one _can beat me," Clarisse replied smugly.

Chris shrugged, "It's true. I've tried."

At that point, an angry Katie Gardner stomped into the café. "Whoa," Nico laughed, "What happened?"

"Ask these morons," She muttered, thrusting her hand at Travis and Connor Stoll who laughing so hard it looked like they were going to cry. "They put meat juice in my water. I almost threw up in the car." Annabeth started laughing. _Poor Katie, _she thought to herself. Demeter, her mother, must have made Katie carpool with Travis and Connor.

"How did you even switch out her water bottle?" Luke asked.

Travis shrugged, "I got into her house and switched it."

"Did my mom let you in!?" Katie demanded.

"No," Travis said, chuckling. "You lost your keys in the tenth grade. I wanted to make sure that you got into her house so I watched you and saw you pick up a spare car under a flower pot. Lucky for me, the key was still there."

"Wait, why would you care?" Katie asked.

Connor snickered, "'Cuz Travis _likes _you."

Katie turned strawberry red, which was almost as red as Travis went. "Let's not go there," Travis said awkwardly as he punched Connor in the shoulder.

"I agree," Katie said. She looked around for something to talk about and noticed Percy. "PERCY!" She said, a little too loudly. "I'm so glad you're here. Um, Beckendorf, Silena, have you met Nico's cousin and our friend Percy Jackson?" Quickly, Katie forced Beckendorf and Silena to shake hands with Percy. "Awesome, let's start karaoke."

"No, no, no!" Thalia interjected as the friends began to take their seats at their table. "We have to wait for Grover and Juniper. They haven't arrived from that stupid environmental meeting thing." Grover and Juniper go this environment meeting every Tuesday. Annabeth and Thalia went to it once after Juniper nearly begged them. They _hated_ it.

"Stupid?" Came Juniper's voice from behind them.

"Stupid?" Thalia repeated, uncomfortably. "I didn't mean stupid. I meant, um, I meant…uh…Annabeth help me out here."

Annabeth snickered, "You're on your own, Thals."

"Yeah, thanks Annie," Juniper shrugged, taking a seat besides Nico. "Who's ready to karaoke?" Silence. Juniper narrowed her eyes. "Come on, guys! No one ever does it."

"Yeah, because we suck!" Nico says. "And we don't like public embarrassment."

"Nico, you embarrass yourself all the _time_," Travis said and everyone laughed.

"Shut up Stoll," Nico growled.

"Okay, enough!" Juniper snapped. "I still think that someone should do a song. Just for the fun of it."

"Juniper is right," Annabeth said. "This might be our last chance we get to go here before Rachel and her stupid brats take over. We might as well make the best of it."

Annabeth's friends sighed. "She's right," Luke said. "I say we do song. Who's with me?"

"A chance to see Mr. Castellan embarrass himself in front of everyone by singing?" Thalia said, mockingly. "Why would I waste that chance by singing _with him_? Count. Me. _Out_."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Thank for that, my very supportive girlfriend." Thalia giggled and kissed him on the cheek. "Come on. Chris? Beck?"

Beckendorf laughed. "_Hell_ no."

Chris nodded toward Beckendorf, "What he said."

"Connor? Travis?" Luke said, a little bit less enthusiastically. They both shook their head with smug grins. "Percy? Nico?" Luke's voice was drained of excitement and was instead dripping with desperation.

Nico shook his head so quickly, it blurred. Percy sighed, "I'll do it with you Luke."

Luke's grinned broadly, "Thank you, Percy!" He grabbed his arm and pulled him up on stage. As Luke began to click through the list of songs, one of the waitresses handed Percy another microphone. "Ready?" Luke asked.

Percy chuckled, nervously. "No."

"That's the spirit!" Luke smirked as the song started playing. Annabeth and her friends groaned as they recognized the song.

**LUKE:**

When I walk on by, girls be looking like damn he fly

I pimp to the beat, walking on the street in my new lafreak, yeah

**PERCY:**

This is how I roll, animal print, pants outta control,

It's Redfoo with the big afro

And like Bruce Leroy I got the glow

Thalia groaned. "Oh god."

Annabeth looked over and noticed Travis with his cell phone. "Travis, what are you doing?"

"Recording this," he said, grinning. "This is SOOOO going on Youtube."

**LUKE & PERCY:**

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

Ah... I work out

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

Ah... I work out

Suddenly and horrifically, Percy and Luke started doing the weirdest dance. Thalia face palmed. "I can't believe that that's my boyfriend."

Nico groaned, "I can't believe that's my cousin."

**LUKE:**

When I walk in the spot (yeah), this is what I see (ok)

Everybody stops and they staring at me

**PERCY:**

I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it

**LUKE & PERCY:**

I'm sexy and I know it _[x2]_

"This is embarrassing," Thalia muttered, "Just embarrassing."

"Are you kidding me?!" Grover said to Thalia. "Their awesome. GO LUKE AND PERCY!" He started clapping his hands and Annabeth couldn't help but start clapping. This was the most fun she'd had a very long time.

**LUKE:**

When I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them off

**PERCY:**

And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a Speedo trying to tan my cheeks (what)

Percy and Luke stepped off of the stage and began walking toward Annabeth and the others. Thalia and Nico tried to hide their faces while the rest cheered them on.

**LUKE:**

This is how I roll, come on ladies it's time to go

**PERCY:**

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous

No shoes, no shirt, and I still get serviced (watch)

Percy and Luke started to dance again and eventually, Thalia and Nico started clapping.

**LUKE AND PERCY:**

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

Ah... I work out

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

I work out

**PERCY:**

When I walk in the spot (yeah), this is what I see (ok)

Everybody stops and they staring at me

**LUKE:**

I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it

**PERCY & LUKE:**

I'm sexy and I know it _[x2]_

I'm sexy and I know it...

Check it out _[x2]_

Then, Luke and Percy started to do some…um, _interesting _moves.

"Holy…fricking…shit," Nico said.

**PERCY & LUKE**

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle yeah _[x3]_

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle yeah, yeah

Do the wiggle man

I do the wiggle man

Yeah

I'm sexy and I know it

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

Ah... I work out

Ah... Girl look at that body _[x3]_

Ah... I work out

Yeah I'm sexy and I know it!

The whole café got up and started screaming cheers for Percy and Luke. They put the microphones away and then went back to their friends' table. Grover patted Luke and Percy on the back while Thalia kissed Luke and Annabeth hugged him.

"Nice job back there, Percy," Annabeth said when she finished hugging Luke.

"Thanks Annabeth. You should go do a song," Percy said, gesturing toward the karaoke.

"No," Annabeth said. "The last time I did a song my friend…," Her voice faltered.

Percy's eyes filled with concern. "You can tell me. We're friends."

Annabeth sighed, "The last time that I sang a song was the last time that I came here…and also the last that I was ever friendly to Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

**_Flashback_**

**Annabeth:**

You belong with me-e-e

You belong with me

_Luke and Thalia stood up screaming and cheering like wild fans. When Annabeth stepped off stage, Thalia, Luke, Silena and Juniper hugged Annabeth fiercely. "That was amazing Annie," Luke said. "I told you that it wasn't that bad." This _was_ Annabeth's first time singing alone. She was so nervous! "You're voice was amazing," Luke continued._

_"It really was," Juniper said. "And great song choice, too."_

_"I guess for once the video that we post on Youtube _won't _be bad," Travis said, glumly. Annabeth smiled. It was the closest thing to a compliment that one of the Stoll Twins will ever say to her. _

_Rachel sighed and stood up out of her chair. She was only person in the whole café that didn't cheer for her. "I guess it was okay. I mean, you were pretty pitchy and your 'dancing' wasn't very good." Rachel put air quotes around it. Her voice was filled with irritation. "Plus, I don't think you're pretty _or _thin enough to sing a song by Taylor Swift." Annabeth and her friends' smiled faded. She stared at Rachel and felt as if she was about to cry. It wasn't uncommon for Rachel to say rude comments but with every comment, it just made Annabeth feel worse. Annabeth felt tears fill her eyes and she quickly stormed out of the café. "Oh come on Annie!" Rachel shouted after her as Annabeth left the café. Rachel turned to see Luke, Thalia and Katie glare at her. "Come on, guys, I was just joking."_

_"Well no one's laughing!" Luke snapped before running out of the café. _

_Outside it was pouring rain. Annabeth was leaning against the wall of the café, curled up and sobbing in her hands. How could someone she thought was her friend be so cruel? How could the person that Annabeth shared every secret, told her every detail of her life and cried to about her parents just betray her like that? _I'm such an idiot, _Annabeth thought to herself. _I should have never trusted Rachel.

_"Annabeth?!" She heard Luke shout. Then she heard footsteps and saw through the crack of her eyes a figure standing above her. "Annabeth…," she heard Luke whisper, pitifully. He slide down against the wall and sat beside her. Annabeth felt his hand touch her arm and then she felt his other hand on her shoulder. Luke gently pulled Annabeth into a hug and Annabeth couldn't help herself but tighten her grip around Luke and sob into his chest. "It's okay," he whispered. _

_"No, it's not," Annabeth managed through tears. "Everyday Rachel will say something bad about me. _EVERYDAY!"

_Luke sighed, tightening his hug around Annabeth. "I'll never let Rachel hurt you ever again." _

_"I'm done with Rachel."_

_"_We're _done with Rachel."_

**I made this chapter extra long! I hoped you like it and I hoped you like the song choice. I wanted something goofy and weird. I also hoped you like the Annabeth/Luke 'brother & sister' moment.**

**Read and review!**

**PS: My birthday was yesterday! I stayed up until **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson…I wish I did though**

**School is starting in like nine or ten days :( that means I can't update as often as possible but I promise that I'll try and do it every weekend.**

**Shout out: a guest posted a comment that the Stolls aren't twins. I wanted to let that person know that I just wanted to make them twins in this. Now** **onto the story! **

_Chapter Seven_

"I'm sorry," Percy said and he sounded genuinely sympathetic.

Annabeth shrugged as if what happened last year wasn't a big deal to her. "It's fine. Besides, I'm just glad that Luke was there."

"Yeah…Luke seems cool," Percy muttered.

"He is," Annabeth replied as she and Percy sat down by their table. "I've known him since fifth grade when I moved here from California. I've been there when he needed me and he's been there when I needed him. Luke's like my older brothers. I think I'm closer to Luke than I am with any of my friends."

"Oh," Percy replied, casually. "How'd you meet Thalia?"

"School."

They didn't continue talking for a very long time until Luke, Travis and Connor sat down beside them arguing with each other. "Stoll, I swear that if you post that video online I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"Come on Luke," Travis argued, "Don't be a kill joy! People will love this! _Tons _of depressed people with laugh when they see this."

"See what?" Percy asked.

Luke turned to Percy, his eyes and voice filled with annoyance. "A video of us singing."

Percy laughed. "Come on, Luke. That would be pretty funny."

"See?!" Connor said. "_Thank you _Percy."

Luke glared at Percy. "Damn you, Jackson. _Damn you._" Luke quickly stood up and stormed over to Thalia was holding a conversation with Silena and Beckendorf.

Percy gulped and looked at Travis, Connor and Annabeth. "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

"Nah," Annabeth replied. "He might be mad but he'll get over it."

"Thank you Percy," Travis said as he and Connor stood up. "This video might just get a MILLION views."

Percy snickered, "You wish." Travis shrugged and quickly the Stoll Twins left the cafe. When they were long gone, Percy turned to Annabeth. "Are they really going to post that on Youtube?"

Annabeth smiled, "Knowing the Stolls, of course! But don't worry, they do it to all their friends."

"So I am a part of 'the group?'"

"Of course. Your Nico's cousin. Plus, everyone likes you."

"Do you?"

Annabeth hesitated. "Yeah. I do. Kind of an awkward beginning of a friendship, though."

Percy sighed. He looked straight forward as he answered. "I guess you're right. Let's start over."

"Start over?"

"Yeah. Let's have clean slate."

Annabeth chuckled, "Okay."

Percy grinned, "Hello," he said, holding out as his hand. "I'm Percy Jackson, Nico's cousin."

Annabeth laughed and she took Percy's hand. "Hello, Percy. I'm Annabeth Chase."

Percy retracted his hand. "Let's be friends."

Annabeth smiled, "Friends."

**I know this chapter is REALLY short! Sorry.**

**I hoped you like the friendship moment between Percy and Annabeth. **

**I promise to update my 'Goode High School for Insane Youths' soon.**

**Please read and review. I won't update unless I get at least 5 reviews. So if you wanna keep reading, then post a comment. :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**I love it whenever I log onto my gmail account and see people reviewing, favoriting and following! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing my story!**

**Special Shout Out: I got this amazing review from ILoveJamesSiriusPotter. Thank you SO much for posting that comment. Reading your comment made my day! I hope I get more of your FABULOUS reviews! Thank you so much :D**

_Chapter Eight_

**_One Month Later_**

"LET'S GO PERCY!" Annabeth screamed. She was standing up on the wet metal bleachers beside Nico, Luke and Thalia at Percy's swimming competition. He had the made the school team and was the school captain. Annabeth has never seen anyonein her _life _move thatfast. "SWIM! SWIM! SWIM!" It was the first meet of the year and right now Percy was swimming for the very first time. He was in the lead by about a yard but the other team's captain was advancing on him. "SWIM! PERCY! SWIM!"

"My god, Annabeth," Luke groaned. "Could you yell any louder? Your making me go deaf!"

Annabeth ignored Luke. She raised her hands in the air and clapped as Percy touched the end of the pool. He got out, dripping weight. "GO PERCY!" She screamed as Luke, Thalia and Nico stood up and began cheering for Percy. He looked up at his supportive friends and cracked a grin. "He so good at swimming!"

"More than we can say about Nico over there," Thalia said.

Nico was half-heartedly clapping and had his iPod blasting _Blood on the Dance Floor_ music. "Look," Nico said, yawning. "Just because I fell into the pool last week at Percy's swim practice _does not _mean that I can't swim."

Luke snickered, "You screamed 'help me Percy, help me.'"

"There was water in my eyes." Luke and Thalia laughed.

"Guys!" Annabeth shouted, "Let's go!" She leaped off of the bleachers and ran straight to Percy, who was being congratulating by his team mates. "Good job, Seaweed Brain!" She said, hugging Percy, who was thankfully a lot drier than he was when he got out of the pool.

When they pulled apart, Percy grinned, "Thanks Wise Girl."

"Wise Girl? Seaweed Brain?" One of Percy's teammates, Will Solace, said.

Annabeth laughed. "It's a nickname."

_Flashback_

_"Annabeth. I can't focus on English when there's a perfectly good and people-free pool right down the hallway," Percy complained. Annabeth and Percy were in the high school library doing a project for English that was due in three days. Annabeth would have finished earlier if it wasn't for Percy's constant procrastination. _

_Annabeth chuckled. "Percy, we have three days to finish this project. We don't have time to go swimming."_

_Percy shrugged, leaning back in the wooden chair. "Come on Annie, there's _always _time for swimming."_

_"Not now!" Annabeth replied, hitting Percy with her notebook. "Come on, let's just write the outline. Then we can go swimming. If you didn't stall all the time, we would have finished this project much earlier and then you would get the time to swim."_

_Percy rolled his eyes. "All you care about is school. Don't you ever relax?!"_

_"I will when we finished this project. Now come on, let's focus!"_

_Percy groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever." Sometimes Percy really hated working with Annabeth…but most of the time it was good. After all, she was the smartest person in the eleventh grade._

_"Thank you," Annabeth exclaimed. She set down her English book in front of her and then put her hair up in a pony tail. "Hand me the book from over there." Annabeth demanded, pointing to a huge English book at the very end of the table._

_"What's the magic word?" _

_Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please?"_

_Percy chuckled. "Good." He leaned over, his chair still tipped over at an awkward angle and grabbed the spine of Annabeth's book but the chair tipped over too far and Percy crumbled onto the ground, dragging the book with him._

_Annabeth nearly died of laughter. She clutched her sides and almost cried from laughing so hard. "N-n-n-nice going P-P-Percy. Derp!"_

_Percy situated himself onto the chair properly. "Derp? Really, Annie?" Percy countered. "You need to think of something more original."_

_Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Like what?"_

_Percy shrugged, "I don't know. Something that fits me. Something that only me and you can say to each other."_

_"You and I, you mean."_

_"Whatever, Wise Girl."_

_Annabeth raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What did you just call me?"_

_Percy grinned. "My nickname for you! I'm gonna call you Wise Girl from now on."_

_Annabeth groaned, "Wise Girl? That's such a lame nickname."_

_"And you can think of one better?" _

_"Totally!" Annabeth paused and racked her brain for anything about Percy. When she figured it out, Annabeth grinned. "Seaweed Brain. Because you love the water and you're not the smartest so Seaweed Brain."_

_Percy's smug smirk faded. He glowered. "Okay so maybe your nickname is better." _

_Annabeth chuckled. "What can I say? Wise Girl _never _loses." _

_End of Flashback_

Will stared at Percy and Annabeth with a blank expression. "Come on guys. Do you really think I needed to hear that? Or at least _cared _enough to hear that?" Then, Will quickly ran off to his other friends.

"Thanks Will!" Percy shouted as Will ran away.

"Love ya, Perce!" Will responded before disappearing.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, "You did great. Good job out there. You won your first swim meet! I always knew that you would."

"What can I say? I'm a swimming _master_," Percy bragged.

"Whatever!" Annabeth shrugged.

"Percy!" Someone squealed. Thalia, Luke and Nico finally reached Percy. Thalia was the first to greet him. "Congratulations." Thalia hugged Percy.

"Good job, cuz."

"Nice going Percy," Luke said, patting Percy on the back. He was grinning.

"Thanks guy," Percy said. "And thanks for coming. Too bad the others couldn't make it. Hopefully, they'll come next time."

"And if they don't," Luke said, putting his arm around Percy, smirking, "I'm sure that Annabeth will be just as loud as the rest of them combined." Annabeth punched Luke in the arm and he winced. "OW! Okay, you were fricking obnoxiously loud! Seriously, I think you shattered my ear drum."

"Oh my gosh, your such a baby!" Annabeth shouted, punching Luke in the arm again.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Thalia interjected. She pulled Luke away from Percy and stepped between Annabeth and Luke. "As entertaining as seeing my boyfriend being hurt by a girl, he's still my boyfriend, which means hands off."

"Speaking of boyfriend," Luke said, leaning down to kiss Thalia on the neck, slowly moving his way up to her lips.

"Ew, ew, ew!" Percy shouted, covering his eyes. "Please no PDA!" He faked a gagging sound.

Thalia pulled away much to Luke's chagrin and then kicked Percy in the leg. "Shut up, Jackson. You're just jealous that you're not in a good and solid relationship. Anyway, go ahead Luke. Tell them."

Luke glared at Percy as he continued. "Thalia and I are celebrating our four month anniversary. We were wondering if you guys wanted to come over to Thalia's house to celebrate. It'll just be our friends, Jason, and his friends. It'll be really simple. Some pizza. Sodas. My dad won't be there so we don't have to worry about bothering him." Luke's father, Hermes, worked for this huge business in Manhattan, New York. Hermes was in charge of running messages from business to business. Usually, it kept Hermes pretty busy. Too busy to take care of Luke. As for Luke's mother, May Castellan, she passed away when Luke was seven, which was about the same time that Hermes threw himself at work.

Thalia took Luke's hand. "It'll be fun," Thalia promised. "You guys in?"

"Well…," Percy hesitated. Annabeth hit Percy as hard as she could right in his arm. Percy grunted. He now understands Luke's pain. "Of course we'll be there Thalia."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Annabeth said.

"It sounds kind of boring…," Nico muttered.

"There'll be drinks," Luke added with a smirk.

Nico grinned, "I'll be there."

"WOW," Thalia said, enunciating it a little bit more than necessary. "Just offer beer and every teenage boy will be there!"

"Come on Thals," Nico said, smugly. "We're boys. Beer is _our_ love."

Thalia turned to glare at Luke with intense eyes. "Is that true?"

Luke chuckled. "Come on, Thalia. I think you smart enough to know that you're my true love." Thalia did something that surprised everyone. _Did she just giggle? _Annabeth thought in her head. "I love you, Thalia," Luke said, wrapping his arms around Thalia's waist and pulling her close to him.

"And I love you, Luke." Then, Thalia and Luke passionately starting kissing.

"Awwwwwwww," Annabeth said, smiling.

"EWWWWWWWWWWW," Percy and Nico chimed in.

Thalia and Luke turned away to glare at Percy and Nico. "SHUT UP," they both said simultaneously

**_Scene Change:_**

**_Day after the swim meet (going to lunch)_**

"So, you and Luke, you guys are getting pretty serious," Annabeth said, grinning. Thalia shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal but with was a sparkle in her eyes. "I'm happy for you guys. You're going to stay together for years and years and years. You'll get married, have kids and live a happy life together."

"Whoa, there," Thalia chuckled. "You need to slow down Annie. Luke and I aren't getting married unless our maid of honor has a date."

Annabeth shrugged, "I can always just go with Malcolm."

"Ew," Thalia said.

Annabeth glared at Thalia, "NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Annabeth," Thalia groaned. "It's _supposed _to be like that. Luke and I already agreed that we're not going to have our wedding unless you are in a happy and loving relationship."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you're our maid of honor. You're not supposed to be miserable on my very, very, very special day."

"First of all, you guys already planned out your wedding? That's just weird. And second of all, say you and Luke do want to get married. How do you think you're going to set me up with someone, make sure that I'm happy and then get married?" Annabeth challenged.

Thalia snickered, "Easy! Luke and I are going to hook you up with someone."

"Oh really? Like who?" Thalia grinned and thrust her finger in the general direction of Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll and his twin, Connor. My eyes widened. "Um, the random freshman nerd behind Chris, Travis and Connor?"

Thalia snickered. "No silly." She fixed her aim and Annabeth looked carefully. "Him."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "NO WAY! You're not serious."

"Oh, but I am," Thalia said, smirking.

"You wanna…," Annabeth couldn't breathe. How could Thalia even fathom the idea of something like this?! "You want me to go out with him?!"

"Yeah," Thalia said. "We're setting your guys up on a blind date."

"But…," Annabeth glared at Thalia, "It's _him_. We could never, EVER make it. Seriously!"

"Oh come on. You guys would be cute together. Just think: you and him. Together. Forever."

Annabeth laughed, hysterically. "Thalia, use your fricking brain. There is no possible way that _we _could _ever _make it has a couple. No way. Unless of course it's in this alternate world called 'Thalia and Luke's dreams?!'"

"Come on. You guys would be a good couple."

"Thalia? Did you hit on the head on the way to school? We would not be a good couple!"

Thalia shrugged. "Oh well, Annabeth. It doesn't matter anyway. Luke and I are already setting up a date for you guys in about two weeks." Annabeth gave Thalia her signature _I will beat the living daylights out of you and then throw in the dumpster to rot _look. Thalia gulped and quickly sprinted away from Annabeth.

Thalia had pointing to Travis Stoll.

**Ohhhh, didn't see that one coming did you? Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter and I hoped you guys enjoyed the very small Thuke moment. Is it just me or do you picture Will Solace to look like Prince William…I think it's just me.**

**Please read and review! This time let's shoot for 10 reviews for me to update :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**Sorry if any character, like Nico, is OOC. If you have any suggestions, feel free to say them in your reviews.**

_Chapter Nine_

"Hey Travis," Luke said. Travis and Luke were heading to the cafeteria for lunch together. They were meeting up with the rest of their friends there.

"Yeah, Luke?" Travis asked, nonchalantly as he swung his lunchbox back and forth.

"Can I ask you something?"

Travis put his hand out and stopped Luke. "You're not asking me to take down that video of you and Percy, right? Cuz it's already gotten about a million views and people would be devastated!"

"It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with this person...this girl."

Travis's mouth dropped and he stared at Luke with wide eyes. "LUKE! You're going to break up with Thalia for another girl?! Dude, she'll rip out your eyes and then make you eat them for breakfast."

"Ew, ew, no! I'm not breaking up with Thalia!" Luke said, shaking his head. Luke refused to look at Travis as he continued, "It's about something else."

"What? She's pregnant? I didn't think you guys were in a long enough relationship for _that_. Actually, you guys are moving pretty fast."

Luke groaned and slapped Travis in the arm. "TRAVIS!"

"Sorry, sorry. Just spit it."

"It's about you and a girl."

"Who? Katie and I? We're just friends." Luke hit Travis again. "Ow! What?"

"It's about you and Annabeth."

Travis stared at Luke. He raised his eyebrows. "Me and Annabeth? What the hell are you talking about? Wait, is this about the prank that Connor and I are gonna pull on her pretty soon? Did she find out? Crap, she's going to kill Connor and I. Man, you and Thalia need to give us like personal protection or something."

Luke grabbed Travis's arm. "It's not about a prank. Wait, what prank?"

"Uh...nothing."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just here." Luke handed a Travis a small slip of paper.

"Be at the _La Ritz _**(A/N couldn't really find any good names for a restaurant) **this Saturday at 7:30. What for?"

"Uhhhh," Luke searched for a good excuse, "This thing for Thalia and I. Yeah, it's like the second part of our four month anniversary. Speaking of which," Luke said, eager to switch the subject, "You are going to our anniversary this Friday _and _Saturday right?"

Travis shrugged. "Yeah sure. I'll tell Connor about this Saturday."

"NO!" Luke snapped, grabbing Travis's hand. "Uh, don't tell Connor. Thalia is."

Travis raised his eyebrows. Thalia hates Connor. "Um, okay."

"Come on," Luke said, grabbing Travis's arm. "Let's go to lunch."

**_After School_**

Katie collapsed on Annabeth's bed laughing. 'Wait a second," she said when she managed control her laughter a little bit better. "Thalia and Luke are trying to set you up with Travis Stoll?" Katie continued laughing. "Seriously, they do know that the odds of you guys having a civil relationship is the same probability of you failing a class. It's practically impossible! My god. Can I watch your first date? Seriously, can you record it?!"

"Katie!" Annabeth shouted. Annabeth picked up a pillow from her bed and then hit Katie with it. "I doubt that Travis will agree to go on a date with me."

"Why not? You're like the prettiest girl in eleventh grade. Everyone thinks that, except for Luke…and Mark…and Chris…and Grover. But that's because they're dating someone. Anyway, I'm sure that Travis thinks you're like totally hot. Seriously, who wouldn't want to go out with you."

Annabeth laughed, "Katie, I'm sure that Travis would never _ever _like me like that."

"And why not?"

"Because _everyone _knows that Travis has thing for you."

Katie stared at blankly and burst out in laughter. "Oh, Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth!" She looked like she was about to pass out. "Travis doesn't like me. It's impossible."

"No," Annabeth said. "Travis likes you."

Katie stopped laughing when she realized that Annabeth was being as serious as humanly possible. "But then why would he always prank me?"

"I don't know," Annabeth replied, honestly. "He's a guy. I guess it's just his way of saying 'Hey. I have a thing for you but I don't want more people to find out, especially my brother even though I'm sure he already does.'"

Katie raised her eyebrows. "That's weird."

"Tell me about it."

"But why would he agree to go a date with you if he liked me?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I might not know about it. Thalia told me that Luke was going to tell him. Luke might have just told him about the date. Maybe Travis doesn't know that it's with me. Wait, do you like Travis?"

"What?!" Katie said, defensively. "NO!"

"Katie!" Annabeth demanded.

Katie groaned. "Okay maybe just a little bit but I have nothing to worry about between you and Travis. I'm sure that nothing is going to happen because you guys are completely opposites. And not even the good kind of opposite. Like you guys just don't mesh."

"And you and Travis do?"

"OF COURSE! Opposite's attract."

"Uh huh," Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows. "So you're coming to Thalia and Luke's anniversary, right?"

"Duh! Thalia would kill me if I didn't come. Do you have a ride?"

"Yeah. Percy's picking me up at my mom's architecture. Malcolm and my mom want to meet him."

Katie grinned. "So you and Percy are getting pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah. We're really good friends."

"And do you...you know...like him?"

Annabeth laughed, "Of course I like Percy. He's my friend."

Katie groaned. "For someone so smart, you really don't understand anything that I say about your feelings. Do you, Annabeth Chase, like Percy Jackson and _not _just as a friend?"

Annabeth frowned. "Oh. You mean like that. Look Katie, we're just friends. Percy doesn't like me like that and I surely don't like Percy like that." At least, Annabeth didn't think she did. Sure, Percy was cute and athletic and nice and funny and trustworthy but no, Annabeth would never like Percy like that. "Look, what happened the first day that we met, that's just water under the bridge. Its nothing," Annabeth said. A part of her kind of felt that Annabeth was saying that more to convince herself rather than to convince Katie.

Did she like Percy? Annabeth laughed at herself. It's just not possible.

**_Night of Anniversary_**

Annabeth was sitting at Malcolm's desk, doodling on her English notebook. She had been waiting for Malcolm and her mother to come out of their meeting that was running late. They were supposed to meet Percy, whenever he's coming. Hopefully he hasn't, though. Athena and Malcolm never forget the first time they meet someone.

She felt someone rest their hands on her shoulders. "Hey Annabeth." Annabeth looked around to see Malcolm beaming at her. He was wearing his business suit and nametag. His blonde hair was gelled back. "Nice drawings," he mocked, pointing to the funny looking dog and butterfly. Annabeth was good at drawing buildings but when it comes to small things like dogs and butterflies, she was terrible at it.

"Hey Malcolm. How was the meeting?"

Malcolm shrugged. "It was okay. It would have been better if my favorite sister was there with me."

"First of all," Annabeth said as she began to collect her notebook and other school supplies, "I'm your _only _sister so I have to be your favorite one and second all next year, I promise that I'll a seat in the meeting."

"You better!" Malcolm said, grinning. "So where's your friend? I wanted to meet him."

"Who? Percy? He should be here pretty soon. I think he's picking up some food for the party."

"There isn't going to be drinking, right?" Malcolm said. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as yes. Just do yourself a favor, don't drink too much. Mom can tell whether or not you've been drinking. Trust me, when I was in twelth grade and a went party, she knew the minute I stepped into our house."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, "Well, I'll make sure not to drink anything."

"Good!"

Out of the corner of Annabeth's eyes, she noticed an awkward, out of place teenage boy standing near the doorway trying not to make eye contact with the intimidating adults. Annabeth grinned and raised her hand to get Percy's attention. He smiled at and walked over to Annabeth and her older brother.

"Hey, you must Malcolm," Percy said, smiling. "Annabeth talks about you all the time!"

"And you must be the famous Percy!" Malcolm replied.

"That's me," Percy said, shaking Malcolm's hand. "So, where's your mom?"

"Right now," came a sing-songy voice. Athena stepped in front of Percy, holding out her hand. "Hello, I'm Annabeth's mom."

"Hello," Percy replied, formally, shaking her hand. "I'm Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you Mrs. Chase."

"Oh please. Call me Athena. I would love to stay and chat but you and Annabeth need to get to a party."

"Yeah, Luke and Thalia are probably getting pretty impatience," Percy said.

"Bye Annabeth," Athena said.

"Bye mom."

Percy and Annabeth quickly ran back to Percy's car. In the backseat, Nico was blasting his iPod and was he was obviously trying not to eat the food that Percy had brought for Thalia and Luke's anniversary. Annabeth got into shotgun while Percy hopped into the driver seat and revved the engine. Percy pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive on the main highway. He turned on the radio and heat. It was about a fifteen minute drive to Luke's place. Judging by traffic, it would probably be another ten to fifteen minutes.

After a long drive with Percy and Nico, they finally reached Luke's house. (**A/N just imagine Luke's house like it was in PJO but with more houses around** **it.) **Parked in Luke's driveway was what Annabeth recognized to be Travis's and Grover's car. A black truck pulled up when Percy did. Out stepped Chris, Clarisse, Beckendorf and Silena. Beckendorf was carrying a huge cooler, probably filled up of soda or beer while Chris was tossing around a huge bag of Doritos chips.Percy and Nico grabbed the groceries out of Percy's backseat while Annabeth skipped over to Silena.

"Annabeth!" Silena cheered. "I haven't seen you in over a month!"

"Your always too busy," Annabeth responded, hugging Silena.

Silena groaned. "It's senior year for me Annie. College prep stuff." After Silena graduates from her finishing school, she wants to go to cosmetology and become a professional stylist (wardrobe, makeup and all that fun stuff) for professional models and actresses.

Annabeth and her friends stopped at the front door. Clarisse impatiently knocked it. After about a second of two, Luke opened the door. He changed into a more sophisticated t-shirt and fancier khaki shorts. He was barefoot. Trialing behind Luke was Thalia dressed in short black short and a loose blood red t-shirt with a black tank top underneath. Her black hair was spiked up and held together with hairspray.

"I feel under dressed," Annabeth whispered to Silena.

Silena playfully swatted Annabeth shoulder. "You look fine."

"Come on in guys," Thalia said. Luke and Thalia led Annabeth, Percy and the others down to Luke's basement. _Sexy Chick _by David Guetta was blasting on the stereo. Piper McLean, Juniper and Katie were setting food on a wooden table. Jason, Leo and Grover were conversing about who knows what but it must have been something funny because Jason and Grover were rolling over on the ground laughing. Travis and Connor were whispering in a corner, probably about the latest prank that they were going to pull.

"Welcome to my house Perce," Luke said, holding his arms out and gesturing to his basement. "Feel free to put foods and drinks on that table." Percy, Nico, Beckendorf and Chris did as they were told.

For the first fifteen minutes, they were just talking and listening to music. Annabeth drifted from friend to friend. One minute, she was listening to Juniper and Grover drone on and on about something pertaining to the environment but Annabeth didn't really listen enough to hear what they were talking about. Then, Annabeth would find herself holding a conversation with Silena, who gushed about her last date with Beckendorf. Eventually, Annabeth settled with listening to Jason, Travis and Connor share funny stories in their past.

Finally, Luke said, "Is everyone ready to play Draw?"

"Draw?" Percy said to Annabeth.

Annabeth shrugged, "It's like a version of Truth or Dare and spin the bottle. Except its actually only dares and instead of spinning a bottle we draw a name, hence the name Draw. The game actually gets pretty intense."

Percy groaned. "Joy."

**I hope you liked this chapter. Don't worry the Travis/Annabeth thing will be cleared up in 1-2 chapters.**

**If you have any suggestions on pranks for the Stolls or any ideas for the book, feel free to say then in reviews. Also, if you any suggestions on how to make characters less OOC (like Nico) please feel free to say them.**

**Let's shoot for 15-20 reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson cuz if I did I WOULD BE RICH**

**Please check out of my new story 'Speak Now' and 'Risen: A Thuke Oneshot'**

**I'm sad :( I didn't get as many reviews as I would like. No matter, we'll get more this chapter! I hope.**

_Chapter Ten_

Annabeth, Percy and the others got into a huge circle, Luke and Thalia at the very beginning. They had just finished writing their names down on a slip of paper and were putting them into the old, worn down baseball hat that Luke used to wear. When they finished, Luke handed the hat to Thalia, who was starting. They were going counterclockwise so it would go: Thalia, Luke, Nico, Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, Percy, Katie, Silena, Beckendorf, Travis, Connor, Grover, Juniper, Chris, and finally Clarisse. Thalia already had a smug grin and deep down, Annabeth _really _hoped that she wouldn't have to be Thalia's latest Draw Victim. Usually, Thalia's or the Stolls are the worst…sometimes Silena's, too.

"Okay," She said, grinning so broadly, it looked like her lips were touching her ears. "You have to dance like an idiot for a whole song while Travis and Connor record you and put it on YouTube. If it's not crazy enough, you have to keep going."

"Are you allowed to do that?" Percy asked Annabeth. "The keep going thing?"

"Yup," Annabeth replied, staring intently at Thalia's hand. She was rummaging around the baseball hat. Annabeth really hoped that Nico would be picked.

Thalia drew a name out. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was possible, but Thalia's grin seemed to get bigger. "Jason." She burst out in laughter. "Travis, Connor, get your camera ready. This is _so _going to be in your wedding, Jason."

Jason scowled. "Crap."

"Go on, Jas. Dance," Piper soothed. Just by hearing her voice, Annabeth suddenly wanted to dance. Wow. Does Piper have that affect on everyone?"

"Whatever," Jason said. "Do I get to pick the song?"

"NO!" Thalia shouted and she ran over to the stereo.

Luke laughed, "You shouldn't have said that buddy."

Just then 'Turn Me On' by David Guetta started blasting on the stereo. Jason groaned. "Oh, couldn't you have picked something else?"

"Do you prefer Green Day?" Thalia challenged. Jason's eyes widened. Thalia is obsessed with Green Day. It's basically the only music that listens to. Luke isn't really a big fan of Green Day but he must have downloaded some of their music only for Thalia's sake.

Clearly Jason wasn't a huge fan either. "No. I think this is good."

"That's what I thought," Thalia said and restarted the song.

At first, Jason's dancing was simple: just a couple of steps and kicks here and there. Then, as the song progressed, Jason started getting more into. His dance steps quickened, his leg kicked around and began twirling. Piper and Leo started cheering for Jason while Travis and Connor were about to die of laughter. Their video camera was out. As soon as Jason started to mess with his shirt, Travis shouted, "THIS IS GOING TO BE THE GREATEST YOUTUBE VIDEO EVER!" He shouted. By the time that Jason was over, Annabeth's throat already hurt from laughing, it was the still the first one. **(A/N I know that it isn't a very good description. Just kind of picture really dorky, lame dance moves that'll make you laugh.) **

"Nice going Jason!" Thalia said, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, Jason!" Leo shouted. After watching Jason's dance on the video, they moved on to Luke.

"Oh no," Luke said, groaning. "How am I supposed to beat Thalia? Okay, I dare someone to _chug _three shots of vodka."

Beckendorf chuckled, "Luke we didn't bring vodka."

Luke grinned, "But I did." He stood up and walked over to a small cooler, smaller than the one that Beckendorf had brought, and it opened it. Inside were beer, rum, wine and vodka. He took out the blue vodka bottle."Let's see," Luke said, digging his hand into the baseball cap. Luke smirked. "NICO!"

Nico groaned. He ran his fingers through his messy bed-head hair. "Fine. Get me a cup." Luke grabbed a shot glass from underneath the table and poured vodka in it. He handed him it. Nico looked up at his friends, who were all starting intently at him. Nico took a deep breath, "Here I go." He pressed the shot glass to his lips and then jugged it. As soon as the contents hit his throat, his eyes bulged. He looked like he was about to go on a sugar high. "MORE! MORE! MORE!" He shouted. He held out his shot glass and Luke eagerly poured another glass. In a second, it was gone. Luke poured his final shot. Nico guzzled it down. "THANK GOD, that's over." Nico said, burping slightly.

"Nice, Nico," Percy groaned. "Now when I drive you home, your mom is going to wonder why you're drunk."

Nico shrugged. "With great drinks, comes a great nap. **(A/N I know it switched it up a little…)." **Nico leaned his head on Luke's lap. "Wake me up when someone starts drinking again."

"It's your turn moron!" Thalia shouted, swatting his leg.

Nico remained motionless. "You can…skip…me," Nico said before he passed out _on Luke_.

"MY TURN!" Jason shouted, enthusiastically. He hesitated, though. Clearly, he couldn't figure out what do. "Umm…um…oh, I know! You have to dress up as someone here, chosen randomly, and you have to make a video of them impersonating that particular person." Jason shoved his hand in the hat and picked a name. "Annabeth!"

Annabeth groaned. "Oh no."

"You get to the pick the name," Jason said, jiggling the Draw Hat in front of Annabeth.

She gently plucked a piece of paper. "THALIA!"

Thalia groaned. "Oh no."

"Wait!" Silena shouted, "Do I get to make Annabeth look like Thalia?" Now it was Annabeth's turn to groan. "Oh come on, Annie! Let's do it." Fifteen minutes later Annabeth looked just like Thalia. Although her hair was still blonde, Silena put it up in a way that matched Thalia's spiky hair. Thalia had some of her clothes at Luke's house, which stirred a lot of questions, and so Annabeth wore that. Silena also used Thalia's makeup, which was also here.

"My god," Annabeth said in the mirror. "I look like Thals."

"Which is creepy," Leo said, "Why is Thalia's clothes and makeup here?"

"I guess Silena is the only person that likes sleepovers," Beckendorf joked. He earned a hit from both Thalia and Silena. Of course, Silena kissed Beckendorf afterwards.

"Annabeth, we're waiting!" Travis said, the camera already rolling.

Annabeth groaned and she looked straight into the camera. "I'm Thalia Grace," she said in her most intimidating voice. "You mess with me and your friends I'll beat the life out of you and send to the wolves." Thalia face palmed. Luke just laughed. Speaking of Luke, Annabeth got the most ingenious idea. "Back in tenth grade, I was wimp and refused to ask the _hottest _guy in the tenth grade. Luke Castellan." That got a bunch more laughs from her friends. Behind Annabeth, she could literally hear Thalia fume. "I mean I've had a crush on _forever _but I was too soft to ask him but thanks to my amazing friend, Silena, we got to together. And now I'm happier than ever." Luke had to hold Thalia back. "But if _any _of you girls make one MOVE on my Lukie, you are dead."

"And cut!" Connor said, laughing.

"Lukie?!" Thalia shouted. "I don't call him Lukie and I haven't had a crush on him _forever_."

"Thanks Thalia!" Luke said.

Thalia turned to Luke. "Oh you know what I mean," she said.

"Whatever, whatever, whatever!" Clarisse interjected, a little impatiently. "Piper, it's your turn."

"Yay!" Piper screamed, over enthusiastically. Clarisse and Annabeth both rolled their eyes. "Okay you have to eat a bug."

"Ew!" Silena squealed.

Piper read off of the page. "Grover."

Grover sighed. "I knew it. Can't I do something else?"

"NO!" Nearly everyone except for Percy and Jason's friends said. It was a rule that you can't back out of a dare no matter _what _it is.

"Fine," Grover scowled. He went over to the sliding glass door and went outside. Grover leaned down on the ground and rummaged for a bug. Finally, he pulled out a huge and genuinely frightening beetle. Grover scowled again and then went inside. "Piper, I am _so _gonna get you for this." Grover took a deep breath and dangled the beetle up above his head. The insect squirmed, attempting to break free from Grover's tight grip. Annabeth covered her eyes, peaking through a crack in her fingers as she watched Grover drop the beetle in his mouth. Most of the girls groaned. Annabeth suppressed vomit while all the guys just broke out into laughter. Grover clutched his throat and punched his nose as he began to chew on the beetle. "Oh god," Grover said. Just by how green his voice was, you could tell right off the bat that Grover was about to throw up.

"Here!" Luke said, quickly. He slid out from underneath Nico, who was still out cold, and handed the Vodka bottle to Grover.

"Yeah, cuz alcohol is really going to help," Chris mumbled.

"Now he's definitely going to throw up," Clarisse added.

Grover ignored Chris and Clarisse. He grabbed the bottle of vodka and began to chug it. Annabeth's mouth dropped open as she watched Grover drink nearly a quarter of the bottle. Now, this was Grover's very first time having anything alcoholic and Annabeth knew that tomorrow was going to be one of the worst hangovers in Grover's lifetime. "Ahhhh," Grover croaked. He dropped the vodka bottle. The glass shattered and the contents spilled out all over Luke's carpet.

"Ah, man!" Luke cried out. He and Thalia grabbed towels and began to dab at the vodka. "If my dad smells this, he's going to KILL me."

"_Your _dad? You aren't even drinking. Think about Grover. His parents are going to murder him!" Juniper cried. She grabbed Grover, who was started to twirl and pulled him down to set next to her. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Just relax Juni," Beckendorf said, "I'm sure Grover will snap out of it."

"Snap out of it?!" Juniper shouted. "I'm gonna kill you Piper."

"What did I do?" Piper retaliated. "Luke gave Grover the vodka!"

Usually, Juniper isn't very scary but when she turned to glare at Luke, even Annabeth kind of wanted to cower down in fear. "Thanks Piper," Luke mumbled. He stared back at Juniper, who was still glaring at him. Then, Juniper stood up and began walking to Luke. "Shit!" Juniper grabbed Luke's collar and picked him up. "Um, Thalia!"

"You're on your own Lukie," Thalia replied, laughing.

Juniper pushed Luke up the stairs but before she followed she smiled at everyone. "We'll be quick." Then, Juniper and Luke disappeared.

"Does anybody else kind of want to see what Juniper is going to do to Luke?" Beckendorf asked.

"Nah. They'll be out pretty soon," Thalia replied. Didn't she care about her own boyfriend's safety…on their _anniversary _day? "Let's just keep going."

"We just lost four people: Grover, Nico, Luke and Juniper," Percy pointed out. "We should wait for them."

"Fine," Thalia groaned. So they waited for another five minutes or so until they heard a huge thump. Then, Luke tumbled down; Juniper following him, giving him 'nice' nudges down the staircase. Luke caught his footing and bounded toward Thalia, his eyes wide. His face was green. It kind of looked like Luke was going into shock. "Juniper, what did you do to him?"

"Oh nothing," Juniper said grinning. "Hey Luke, you should tell your dad that your garden has TONS of worms." That about gave it away. Judging by Luke's face, Annabeth knew that Juniper had given…no _forced _Luke to eat a worm.

Apparently, her friends were thinking the same thing. "EW!" Silena groaned, squeezing Beckendorf's hand.

"Nice going Tree Girl," Travis and Connor said together.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grover and Nico are drunk. Luke had to eat a worm Whatever! Can we just get on with the game?" Leo complained.

"Fine," Thalia scoffed, pulling the beer bottle that Luke had gotten for himself away. "And no, you're not going to get drunk. Leo, it's your turn."

Leo hesitated, pondering his decision. "I got it! Someone has to eat my two day old burrito." Leo pulled out a smushed, bean covered, horrific looking thing from his pocket.

"You carry an old burrito in your pocket?" Thalia asked, disgustedly. "Do you know how unsanitary that is?"

"Yup. Just in case I get hungry," Leo said, grinning. "Usually, I replace it every day but I think I forgot. So let's see who's going to eat this." Leo dug his hand and pulled out a name. "Travis!"

All eyes went to the Travis, who in return, had turned bright red. "Oh no! No, no, no! I don't think someone as beautiful as I am shouldn't eat something so _disgusting_. Perhaps my brother, Connor, would be a good alternative. If looking for someone that'll make you laugh _a lot _I suggest Katie."

"Travis," she growled.

"Maybe not…," Travis mumbled. "Okay, how about Thalia? Nothing has happened to her so far."

"Oh, just give me that!" Katie shouted. Katie grabbed the burrito and charged after Travis. "You talk way too much!" She shouted as she shoved the burrito into Travis' mouth.

At first, Travis's facial expression was blank. Then, as he started to digest the food, everything went downhill from there. His face turned green. He began to shake and quiver. Luke offered up an open beer bottle. Before anybody to stop Travis, he grabbed the beer and took a big gulp. Then, Travis leaped outside and spit out the beer. He walked back inside. "Beer and two day old burrito don't exactly mix," Travis explained as he sat down beside his brother. Connor patted him on the back. "Thanks Katie," Travis said, "I'll get you back for that"

"Mmmhmm, sure you will," Katie responded, sarcastically. Travis sipped the beer that Luke had given him and glared at Katie, who just smirked at him. "Revenge is a bitch, Travis."

"Yeah, think about that Katie when we prank YOU."

"Wait, why do you have to drag me into this?" Connor groaned.

"Connor, shut up!" Travis and Katie said simultaneously, which just infuriated them even more. They glared at each other.

"Okay, let's move on," Thalia started. "Annabeth it's your turn."

"Finally!" Annabeth said. She thought for a second. There were a lot of different options for her. She could make someone prank call the principal. She could have two people make out, which is what Silena usually does. Of course, there was another idea that Annabeth has been dying to do. "You have to call up your worst enemy and gave them a little piece of your mind. If they pick up, you have to talk for at least a minute or until they hang up. And if it's a voicemail, make it thirty seconds."

"Ohh, Annabeth, good idea," Clarisse complimented.

"We should go around in a circle and say our worst enemies so that if the person that does get picked doesn't try and switch out," Annabeth said. "You guys all know who mine is: Rachel, of course."

"Travis," Katie mumbled.

"Katie," Travis shot back.

"Hera," Thalia said. Hera was Thalia's stepmother.

"The captain of our school's rival swim team," Percy added.

"This girl, Miranda, at my cosmetology class," Silena said.

"She's still giving you trouble?" Beckendorf asked. "If you need me to, I can always just…give her some _extra _persuasion."

"Nah," Silena said.

Annabeth's friends continued listing off their worst enemies until they all had finally finished. They turned anxiously to look at Annabeth. Even Annabeth's stomach twisted with anxiousness. She reached in, feeling the slips of paper. Annabeth dug around a little bit until she picked out a name. She opened it, hoping to see Travis or Katie's name, but when she read the name, her smile faded. Annabeth felt like she was about throw up.

"Annabeth? Who is it?" Katie asked.

"Wise Girl?" Percy said, concerned.

Annabeth looked up at her friends. "It's me."

**OHHHHHHHHHHHH! Cliffhanger! **

**So today is my last day before school starts tomorrow so I'm updating my other two stories. **

**Let's get 10 reviews. Remember, the fast I get the reviews, the faster I get started on the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

_Previously on 'New Kid at Goode High School'_

_"Annabeth? Who is it?" Katie asked._

_"Wise Girl?" Percy said, concerned. _

_Annabeth looked up at her friends. "It's me."_

_Chapter Eleven_

Annabeth felt like she was about to pass out. She could feel her friends staring at her, but her eyes stayed trained on her name on the slip of paper. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been Travis or Katie? Or even Percy, who probably didn't even that captain's number **(A/N the captain of Goode High School's rival swim team.) **Yet, she just had to pick her name!

"Maybe you can pick again," Thalia suggested.

"Yeah, no one's going to care," Luke added.

Annabeth was about to agree with Luke but she froze. This would be the perfect opportunity to say some terrible things to Rachel that Annabeth has always wanted to say AND she could do with complete anonymity. It was the perfect opportunity to mess with Rachel. Then, Annabeth began thinking about the negatives. What happens if Rachel did find out and was determined to destroy Annabeth's life more than already has? Suddenly, all the things that Rachel could say about Annabeth popped her into her mind. She almost got a headache just thinking about it.

Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder. "Wise Girl?" Someone asked.

Annabeth looked up to see Percy staring at her, his eyes filled with concern.

"I'll do it," Annabeth finally said.

Connor nearly choked on the beer that he was slowly sipping.

"WHAT?!" Katie screamed.

"Ow!" Travis complained. "Thanks for screaming in my ear Gardner."

Katie slapped Travis. "Shut up Travis."

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth!" Percy shouted, "Are you crazy? You do realize how angry Rachel could get?"

Annabeth grinned. "Relax Seaweed Brain! Wise Girl _always _has a plan." Annabeth tore the beer bottle out of Connor's hand and gulped the rest down. "Luke, I need your home phone."

Luke raised his eyebrows, tentatively but he shrugged. He stood up and got his home phone. "Here you go," Luke mumbled.

Annabeth grinned, "I hope Rachel is home." Annabeth quickly dialed her home phone number that she still had memorized.

The phone rang and rang until finally someone picked up. "Hello?" Rachel said.

Annabeth grimaced at the sound of Rachel's phone. Her friends raised their eyebrows in curiosity. "Rachel?" Annabeth said, in the manliest voice possible.

"Who is this?" Rachel demanded.

"Mark," Annabeth snapped. **(A/N Thank you Guest for giving me the idea :D)**With the help of Connor's beer, Annabeth's impersonation of Rachel's jackass boyfriend was spot on. "We need to talk Rachel."

"Mark?" Rachel whispered. Annabeth held back a snicker. She could picture perfectly what Rachel's facial expression looked like what. "What's going on, honey?"

"Our relationship has been…," Annabeth hesitated, "_Fun _but I'm getting awfully bored with you. You're not hot enough."

Rachel gasped as if it was the most insulting thing that anybody could say to her. "Mark, honey!" She managed through gasps and chokes of sobs. "Think this through. We've been dating forever. You can't _break up _with me. I'M SUPPOSED TO BREAK UP WITH PEOPLE!"

Annabeth snickered in the most Mark-ish way possible. "I guess the table's turned."

"NO!" Rachel cried.

"Bye Rach," Annabeth said and she hung up the phone.

The first reaction from her friends was pure shock that quickly turned to fits of laughter. "OH – _hahahahahahahaha _– MY – _hahahahahahahahaha _– GOD!" Thalia managed. "Annabeth that was pure genius!"

"That's why I call her Wise Girl," Percy added.

"Rachel is going to be so mad tomorrow at school!" Luke added. "I wonder what will happen to her and Mark."

"Rachel's probably going to have a bitch fit and then Mark will actually break up with her," Thalia concluded.

"I can't wait until school tomorrow," Annabeth beamed.

**(A/N I might have made the anniversary on Friday. If I did, scratch that. It's going to be on Thursday. Sorry for the inconsistency.)**

**_Friday_**

"Hey, Wise Girl!" Percy said as he ran down the hallway filled of bustling teenage kids. "Annabeth!" Percy grabbed a hold of Annabeth's and arm and turned her around. "_Finally_!" He panted.

Annabeth chuckled. She readjusted the strap of her backpack and smiled. "No running in the halls, Perce."

Percy shrugged. "It's not like teachers care. You're going to my swim meet next Friday, right?"

"Duh, Seaweed Brain. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Good," Percy said smiling. "So –."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!"

"What was that?!" Percy shouted.

Percy and Annabeth spun around to see Katie furiously running her fingers through her hair. Her bag was lying on the grounds, the contents strewn across the hallway.

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other before running over to their screaming friend. "What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, nervously. Anything that can make Katie scream like _that _must have been bad.

"Those asshole Stolls! God! They put pesticide in my hairspray. My $25 hairspray that's always in my locker. They broke into my locker, stole my hairspray and replaced it with one filled with pesticide. Now my hair is going to look terrible," Katie ranted. "And _smell _terrible." Katie grabbed a strand of her brown hair and shoved it in Annabeth's nose. "Don't you smell that?!"

Annabeth grabbed Katie's hand and put it by Katie's side. "Katie, Travis wasn't kidding when he said that he was going to get back at you for shoving that burrito his mouth last night."

"It was Draw! He's supposed to follow through with the dare. It _is _a part of game. Besides, if _you _weren't chicken enough to call up Rachel then Travis shouldn't be so wimpy! God, I hate that little kid so _fricking _much. So, so, SOOOOOOOOOOOO much."

"Ahhhhhhhhh. Did Katie's plant boyfriend cheat on her with a rose," someone sneered from behind Annabeth. Annabeth and Percy groaned as they turned to face Rachel, who was the wearing the same old too-tight/too-short clothes. "Katie, I think there might be a disorder for people that do plants. Then again you are a _freak_."

"What do you want, Dare?" Annabeth snapped.

Rachel cackled. "Speaking of Dare, I heard that you and your little friends were celebrating Miss Thalia and Luke's anniversary. Where you guys playing the same old game? What was it? Draw?" Annabeth stiffened. _Oh no. _"I remember when I used to play that game with you guys. It was so much more fun with me around, wouldn't you agree, Annie?"

"_No_," Annabeth said, curtly.

Rachel shrugged. "I think it would be. And sure Percy thinks the same thing."

Percy shook his head. "No. I really don't."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Mmmhmm. _Sure_." Rachel began to twirl her hair and then she winked at Percy. Annabeth clenched her fists. She suddenly felt the urge to punch Rachel as hard as she could. What was that feeling? Was it _jealousy? _No. It couldn't be.

Annabeth didn't like Percy like that.

Not at all.

"Do you want something?" Percy snapped.

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "Last night I got a call from Mark saying that he wanted to break up with me."

"Not surprising," Katie muttered.

"Shut up Plant Freak," Rachel sneered. She then turned to Percy and Annabeth. "Anyway, I talked to Mark today. He never made that call but you would know, wouldn't you Annabeth? Because _you _made that call…didn't you? When you playing your stupid little Draw game with your dumb little friends, you had the _nerve _to call me? You just can't let go of me, can you? You're obsessed with me."

"Get over yourself, you egotistical bitch!" Katie retorted.

Rachel laughed. "Ohh, Katie Gardner has guts. Damn! Maybe I should tell my mom how gutsy you are! I'm sure she'll have a nice little chat that'll end with your mother losing quite a bit of funding. She'll find herself in debt and eventually she'll have to close down the garden. Then you would probably lose your house and you won't have money to go to school. I mean, damn! Things will go downhill for you and your mother Katie Gardner if you keep on talking to me like that." Katie glared at Rachel. She opened her mouth and Annabeth knew that Rachel was about to say the ugliest, meanest thing that Katie could ever say to Rachel. "Ah, ah, ah!" Rachel said, taking out her fancy iPhone5 **(A/N Does anybody else want an iPhone really badly or is it just me?!). ** "Remember: one little phone call to my mom will destroy you and your family."

"Ugg!" Katie screamed, stomping off in the opposite direction.

"Thank god Plant Freak is gone!" Rachel laughed as Katie disappeared.

"You're such a bitch!" Annabeth screamed, unable to hold herself back anymore. "You're too cowardly to face what Katie can do to you. Instead, you cower behind your mother's power and money!"

"Oh _I'm _cowardly?!" Rachel pressed her hand to her heart as she continued. "You are such a little hypocrite. You are always hiding behind Luke or Thalia and now Percy, _obviously_. You are too scared to face me and my wrath yourself. You're pathetic Annabeth Chase. Very, _very _pathetic." And with that, Rachel spun around and stomped off to her next class.

Annabeth let Rachel's words sink in.

She was right. Rachel was right. Annabeth was a coward. She can't face Rachel's wrath because she is scared of what would happen.

"Wise Girl?" Percy mumbled.

"She's right," Annabeth mumbled, her mind flashing back to the very last night Annabeth ever sang. **(A/N if you don't know what I'm talking about, refer back to chapter six). **"I am pathetic and cowardly."

Annabeth felt Percy touch her shoulder gently. "Don't listen to Rachel. She's a bully. Her opinion is nothing. Nothing." Annabeth gritted her teeth together and fought back tears. "Annabeth," Percy whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "You're perfect in every way. What Rachel says is ridiculous lies. _Ridiculous lies_."

Percy hugged Annabeth tighter.

As Annabeth felt Percy's arms squeeze her, her heart twisted.

Annabeth had made up her mind

She really did _like _Percy.

**Did you like that very lame Percabeth moment at the end?**

**This IS NOT my best or longest chapter AT ALL. Sorry about that! It's more a filler. Next chapter will be a million times more interesting and better written!**

**I might update 'Speak Now tomorrow but most likely not. I have a ton of Social Studies homework that I really should be doing today. **

**Well anyway, REVIEW!**

**Let's get 15-20 reviews for this chapter.**

**To make up for my crappy chapter, here's a little and very short preview of next chapter:**

_"Thalia, Luke!" Annabeth shouted in irritation. "You can't leave me alone with Travis! On a date!"_

_"Yeah," Travis added. "I don't even like Annabeth." Annabeth kicked Travis and given the fact that Annabeth was wearing high heels, it really hurt Travis. "It's true," Travis muttered through pain. He received another kick to his shins._

_"Good luck guys," Luke said, grinning as he and Thalia backed out of the La Ritz. _

_"See ya on Monday!" Thalia added as she and Luke sprinted out of the restaurant._


	12. Chapter 12

**So guys the first part of this will not be that great only because my computer had a malfunction and something went wrong with my document. Long story short, my hard drive got all screwed up and it won't let me open the document. I had to rewrite the whole beginning, which really, REALLY frustrated me. **

**Also, I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for taking forever to update. I swear that it won't (hopefully won't) happen again. I'll try and update every Saturday from now. Hopefully, I'll get around to updating my other two stories. **

_Chapter Twelve_

"Come on, Annabeth!" Thalia screamed. She grabbed Annabeth by her hand and started dragging her outside. "We're going to be late!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thalia," she groaned, "I can't walk very fast."

Annabeth looked down in frustration at the five inch black high heels that Thalia was forcing Annabeth to wear to dinner that Thalia and Luke had set up at the La Ritz. She was wearing one Thalia's short black, strapless dresses that cut off at the knees. After about an hour, Thalia had perfected Annabeth's face with foundation, bronzer and had used just about every type of product that Thalia had.

"Suck it up!" Thalia snapped and grabbed her purse. "Come on!"

Thalia tore Annabeth outside. The light breeze brushed Annabeth's curly blonde hair.

"TAXI!" Thalia shouted. She whistled for their attention.

"Thalia, why don't we just call Percy?" Normally Annabeth would walk but since she's wearing such high high heels, Annabeth knew that walking would be a stupid idea. Annabeth grabbed her cell phone and began to scroll through her contacts. "Here, I'll call him. You just tell Luke that we'll be there soon."

"NO!" Thalia shouted. She stole Annabeth's phone.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Thalia, what are you doing?"

Thalia readjusted her thin jacket. "Um...let's just take a taxi. I don't think we should bother Percy."

"Why? He would be glad to pick us up." _That and I would be glad to see Percy_, Annabeth thought to herself. She longed to see Percy's fabulous, stunning oceanic eyes.

"How about we ask Travis?"

That caught Annabeth's attention. "Why in the world would you EVER want Travis Stoll to pick us up? You absolutely HATE him!"

Thalia shrugged. "He grows on you."

"What?!"

"Just give me your phone," Thalia commanded.

"You _have _my phone," Annabeth retorted. She was still in awe of Thalia.

"Oh...right." Thalia unlocked Annabeth's cell phone and opened up the contacts. She scrolled down and pressed a contact number, which Annabeth assumed was Travis's.

The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luke."

_Oh_, Annabeth said, relieved. _It's just Luke_.

"Hey Thals," Luke replied over the phone.

"Are you at the restaurant, yet?"

"No."

"Good. Can you pick up Annabeth and I? We're at her house."

"Sure," Luke said. "See you in maybe ten minutes." The line went dead.

Thalia handed Annabeth back her phone, smiling. "Why couldn't you have just used you're phone?" Annabeth asked as she slid her cell phone back into her purse.

Thalia shrugged. "Didn't want to get it out."

Annabeth sighed. "Of course not."

* * *

When Annabeth, Luke and Thalia arrived at the La Ritz, they were ten minutes late for their dinner reservation. Lucky for them, someone had already showed up and so their table wasn't taken away. Their table was in the back of the restaurant, near the window facing the roaring traffic jam occurring in the streets. Perched on one of the tables was Travis Stoll, scrolling through his cell phone. He was sitting in a two-seated table and there was a sign on it that said, 'Reserved.'

"Thalia," Annabeth said, her eyebrows knit together, "Where's the other tables? And how come there's only one person there?"

"Sit down Annabeth," Thalia instructed.

Travis looked up at that point, his grin fading. "Where's Connor? I thought you said he was coming."

"And where's Percy? Or the other's?" Annabeth had taken a seat in front of Travis, waiting impatiently for Thalia to explain what was going on.

"Okay, Annabeth, Travis," Luke started, "Confession time. No one else is coming. It's just you two."

"What?!" Travis shouted. He stood up and looked as if he could potentially kill Luke and Thalia. Annabeth shared the same expression. "What do you mean it's just us?"

"Well," Thalia started, "We noticed that you two both were getting kind of lonely so we both decided that it would be cool if you two...oh I don't know...hooked up..." Thalia looked down at her shoes.

"Wait, what?!" Travis groaned.

Suddenly, all the pieces in Annabeth's head formed a puzzle. She understood everything: why Thalia refused to let Annabeth call Percy and why she wanted to call Travis and..., "Oh my god?!" Annabeth thought out loud. "Is this a date?"

Luke chuckled, sheepishly, "Yeah...kind of."

"Thalia, Luke!" Annabeth shouted in irritation. "You can't leave me alone with Travis! On a date!"

"Yeah," Travis added. "I don't even like Annabeth." Annabeth kicked Travis and given the fact that Annabeth was wearing high heels, it really hurt Travis. "It's true," Travis muttered through pain. He received another kick to his shins.

"Good luck guys," Luke said, grinning as he and Thalia backed out of the La Ritz.

"See ya on Monday!" Thalia added as she and Luke sprinted out of the restaurant.

"Thalia! Luke!" Annabeth yelled but it was too late. They were already out of the door. She glared at them as they ran down the streets, hand in hand. "Ugh! I'm going to kill them on Monday!"

"Tell me about it," Travis agreed. "Seriously, why do they honestly think that I would ever be interested you?! I mean you, of all people! You're the worst possible choice out there. I swear, I'd even go for Thalia." Annabeth raised her eyebrows and smirked. Travis cleared his throat. "Not that I would or anything."

"Yeah, besides everyone knows that you like Katie."

"What?! I do not."

"Oh come on Travis. It's so obvious."

"No, it isn't! And I don't like Katie."

"Yeah, you do! Just by the way that you prank her but yet act so protective of her clearly shows that you look her. You just can't admit that you're as smitten over Katie as Luke is over Thalia."

"Shut up, Annabeth!" Travis retorted.

At the point the waiter came over to get their drinks. For some reason, they both answered without hesitation, though Annabeth quickly began wondering why either of them hadn't walked out when Thalia and Luke left them all alone. The waiter came back surprisingly fast with their bread and Diet Cokes.

"Yeah, fine, Katie's pretty but whatever. What about you and Percy?" Travis said as he began to slather a piece of bread with a disgusting amount of butter.

Annabeth hesitated, taking a long sip of Diet Coke before responding. "What do you mean?"

"Come on Annabeth, obviously you like him."

This took Annabeth by surprise. She had only come to conclusion that she had liked him...at least she just _admitted _that she liked him. Perhaps, she had been showing signs way before she came to terms with it. _No I'm just going crazy_, Annabeth thought to herself.

All of a sudden, Travis started laughing. "What?" She asked.

"You're admitting it to yourself, aren't you?"

_Wow. Am I that readable_? "What do you mean?" She asked innocently.

Travis scoffed. "I know that look Annabeth. You totally like Percy Jackson."

"Travis, shut up."

"So you're agreeing with me?" Travis said with a cocky grin.

Annabeth glared at him. "I hate you. I really, _really _hate you. You know that, right?"

"What? Just because you're terrible at hiding your feelings. Seriously, you about as easy to read as a human being is to Edward Cullen. **(A/N I couldn't resist! I'm SOOOOO excited to go see Breaking Dawn Part 2!)**."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Just don't tell anyone, Stoll! I haven't even told Thalia. I was kind of trying to keep it a secret."

Travis chuckled. "Come on Annie. Of course, I'll keep it a secret."

Annabeth smiled at him. "Well, good. Because if you don't, I'll tell Katie that you used to wet your bed in kindergarten."

"I'm sure you will Chase. I'm sure you will."

Twenty minutes later, their food that had ordered about five minutes after Travis pointed out who Annabeth liked had finally arrived. Travis ordered a large plate of meat, steaming mash potatoes and salty side of beans. Annabeth had gotten a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, her favorite meal. She particularly loved it when her mother made homemade pasta.

"Thank god! I'm starved!" Annabeth said. She grabbed her fork and started digging her. She had eaten a couple of fork loads of pasta when she had just came to the realization that Travis wasn't eating anything. "Travis...aren't you hungry?"

Travis merely continued to grin.

"Travis...?" Annabeth said, a little confused.

Travis shook his head as if he had just come out of a trance. "What?"

Annabeth pointed toward his food. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Oh...oh!" Travis quickly started to dig in, shoving some mash potatoes in his mouth.

"What were you even thinking about?" Annabeth asked.

Travis swallowed. "Well," he started, "I was thinking-."

"Wow. Travis Stoll _thinking?!"__  
_

Travis glared at Annabeth. "Anyway, I was thinking about you and I."

Annabeth's eyes widened. What did he just say?

Travis saw Annabeth's opinion and laughed. "No, no, no...that's not what I meant. In fact, just thinking about that is kind of making me sick," he joked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Continue."

"Well, I was thinking since you like Percy and I...like Katie and obviously we both aren't getting anywhere, perhaps we could use each other to get them."

Annabeth raised her eye brows. "Go on."

"Maybe we could go out with each other, announce to the whole school on Monday and make Percy and Katie jealous. We'll make them realize just how much they want us!"

Annabeth scoffed. "I don't know about that Travis. There are tons of disadvantages to that plan. Like what happens if they don't care? Or if they take it really, really personally and get mad at us?" Annabeth's mind started to race with all the problems that could occur.

Travis just grinned. "Relax, Annabeth. I got this. Now wait do you say? Are you in or what?"

Annabeth sighed, weighing the pros and cons of the plan.

She sighed. "Fine."

**DUN DUN DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Will Travis's plan work? Or will it crash and fail like Annabeth suspects?!**

**Give me ten reviews and you'll find out.**


	13. Chapter 13

**So, I'm probably going to update this story a lot more frequently than my other two stories because I'm trying to finish this story! I have so many ideas that I want to write but if I were to, I would never get around to updating this.**

**But yeah. Here's the chapter:**

_Chapter Thirteen_

Annabeth looked at Travis, her gray eyes were watery with terror and anxiousness. She felt her stomach flutter like a pack of butterflies. "Travis, are you sure that this is a good idea?" **(A/N Travis and Annabeth are waiting out front of Goode High School). **

Travis sighed. "Come on Annabeth. We went over this at the restaurant."

"Yeah, I know! But what happens if Percy, or Katie for that matter, takes it a little bit too personally, gets really mad at us and then never wants to speak to us again. There are so many possible endings that could go wrong." Annabeth began to fiddle with her curly strands of blonde hair.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth." Travis put his arm around Annabeth and grinned. "Come on. We went over this. What did I say at the restaurant?"

Annabeth scowled.

"What? Did? I? Say?" Travis enunciated.

"You got this," Annabeth mumbled under her breath.

Travis snickered. "That's right, Bethie. I got this! I _got _'dis!"

"You know what Travis, you're an idiot." Annabeth slid out from under Travis's arm. "And don't put you're arm around me! It's really, really weird."

"We're pretending that we're dating. I'm supposed to put my arms around you. Have you seen what Luke and Thalia do when their not at school? We have to be like that. We have to be all over each other." Annabeth scowled. When she looked over at Travis, she saw him smirking. "You know I'm right."

"This is going to be a nightmare," Annabeth mumbled around her breath. "Fine! Put your stupid arm me."

Travis smirked. "Yeahhhhhhhhhhh buddy." Travis casually rested his arm on Annabeth's shoulder. "Do me a favor and put on you're most convincing smile? We don't want Katie to think I'm a bad boyfriend or anything."

"And do me a favor and shut up," Annabeth scoffed.

"Fiesty. I like it," Travis teased.

Annabeth groaned. "Let's just get this over with."

Travis laughed and he quickly began to lead Annabeth, his 'girlfriend' up the stairs of the high school. She began to pull at her jean pockets, trying not to make eye contact with any curious bystanders. Annabeth could overhear the whispers over her fellow peers. Her cheeks flushed bright pink and her grip around her jean tightened. She clenched the fabric so tightly that she figured if she saw any of her friends, she would end up ripping out her pocket.

"Would you calm down?" He mumbled as he opened the door for her. "It's not like anybody is making a big deal out of it."

"Just wait until you see our friends. Just. You. Wait," Annabeth reassured him.

Travis just laughed. "You humor me, Chase."

"Whatever," She scoffed.

They continued down the hallway, Annabeth managing the whole way not to make too close of eye contact with anybody. She didn't understand why she felt so self-conscious. Yes. She was walking down the hallway with Travis Stoll's arm around her...but what's the big deal? It's just Travis Stoll. It's not like its Mark or any popular guy on the football. It's just Travis Stoll. And it's just her. Annabeth didn't consider herself popular. And she wasn't like Rachel, no doubt. She just a girl and Travis was just a guy.

Why was she so self-conscious when it was really nothing to worry about?

"There they are," Travis stated.

Annabeth felt her stomach knot up. _Here it goes_. She thought to herself. She forced herself to slowly look up. In front of her was her friends, gathered around their lockers staring at Annabeth and Travis in awe. Her eyes first went to Thalia and Luke who were standing there, trying to supress laughter. Then her gaze trickled to Grover, Clarisse and Chris, who were standing there appalled with eyebrows raised so high Annabeth figured that it would disappear into their hair. Beside them was Connor, a half eaten bagel falling out of his mouth as he stared at his brother and Travis's supposedly new girlfriend. Next to Connor was Katie. She had a twisted look her eyes, mixed with relief, grief and shock. And then her eyes rested upon Percy. He looked genuiely hurt, like a wrecking ball had just knocked in the middle of his stomach.

_Oh crap_, Annabeth thought to herself.

"Hi guys," Travis said in his usual, confident tone. "What's going on?"

"What's going on with us?!" Connor shouted. "What's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean, my fabulous yet less attractive twin?" Travis said, his tone dripping with condescending mockery.

"Oh come _on_!" Connor said, gesturing toward Annabeth and Travis.

"Oh, her?" Travis replied, innocently. "She's my girlfriend.

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Connor, Clarisse and Chris shouted in unison.

"Yes," Travis responded, calmly. "Annabeth Chase is my girlfriend."

"Okay, what the hell are you talking about?" Katie perked up. She didn't look angry - just as confused as the others were. "Why are you even interested with this guy?" Katie asked Annabeth.

She shrugged.

"Katie, I think you just need to learn that Annabeth and I have a unique relationship," Travis declared. "Right, Annabeth?"

"Um...yeah. Travis and I...yeah." Annabeth said, putting on her most convincing smile. How could Travis pretend that they were dating so well when Annabeth could barely form proper sentences?

"Honestly, what the hell is going on right now?" Grover added.

"Look I think you just need to understand that Annabeth and I have a special connection that even Luke and Thalia can't master. Me and her," Travis gestured to Annabeth and himself, "We're meant to be together..._forever_."

Annabeth sent a fleeting look toward Percy. He's expression twisted and suddenly there was fiery and irritation in his eyes. His eyebrows knit together. Annabeth quickly detected the emotion in his eyes. Was he..._jealous_?

"Oh my god," Luke said, shocked. "No way! Did Thalia and I really hook you two up?"

Travis smirked. "Yeah, sure."

"Wait, you guys hooked them up?" Katie asked.

Thalia smiled. "Blind date. We were mostly doing it just to piss off Annabeth but I guess you could say that it was our fault that these two lovebirds finally came together."

"Mmmhmm," Katie said, raising her eyebrows. "So you guys are actually dating? Like it's official?"

"Yeah," Travis responded. "We officially together."

"Ew...," Connor mumbled.

"I-I...," Percy started. Everyone turned him, interested in his reaction. Percy's green orbs widened and his cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I-uh-I have to go." And quickly Percy turned on his heels and begun running down the hallway, in the opposite direction of his next class.

"Wait, Percy!" Grover called after him. "Where are you going?!"

"Percy! That's the wrong!" Luke added but it was no good. Percy was long gone.

"Someone should go after him," Katie concluded.

"I nominate Clarisse," Travis said.

"Shut up, lovebird!" Clarisse snapped.

Annabeth groaned, the hole in her stomach stretching out about a million yards. "You guys are all idiots! I'll go do it!"

"But, why would you want to leave you're loving, amazing _boyfriend_?" Katie sneered.

Annabeth glared at him. "Travis's class is on the other side of the high school. I wouldn't want him to be late. Besides, my class is down there anyway, so it's not a big deal." Annabeth broke free from Travis's tight grasp and began to run off in the direction that Percy went off to. She rounded the corner, desperate to find him. "Percy!" She called out, hoping that she wouldn't catch the attention of anyone unwanted.

When she turned the corner, she found Percy leaning against a set of lockers, staring off into space.

"There are you are Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed.

No response.

She awkwardly walked up to him. "Well, what are you doing all the way down here? You're class is at the other end of the school. You don't want to be late to your class, do you?"

No response.

"Percy? Is everything okay?"

Still no response.

Annabeth sighed. She knew that doing this would be a stupid idea. "Well, I'll see you later."

No response.

She groaned. "Fine, Percy. I...," Annabeth trailed off. There was no use. She tried to look into Percy's beautiful green eyes but his shaggy, wild hair was covering his emotional eyes. "Well...goodbye Percy."

And Annabeth slowly walked away.

"Annabeth."

Annabeth gasped and spun around, her smile wide. Percy flipped his black hair out of his eyes and he smiled meekly at her. "Yes, Percy," she said, hopefully.

"I hope you're happy with him. With Travis."

Annabeth smiled meekly, "Thanks, Percy."

**:( Awwwwwwwwwwwwww that was a sad ending...ish...maybe not**

**Well, I know that these chapters might seem pretty short...but...ya...hey at least I updated twice in the last two days :)**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Awwwwww, thanks for the 20 reviews! *getting tearful* **

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_Chapter Fourteen_

Percy slowly began to loop around the high school, making his way ever so slowly across the field of the school. The bell had already rung and Percy knew that he was going to be at least ten to fifteen minutes late to his first class but he didn't care. Having one tardy on his spotless record won't kill him...but Annabeth and Travis's relationship did.

Annabeth Chase.

The one girl that caught Percy's attention ever since he stepped foot in Goode High School for the first time. The girl that smiled and hugged him whenever he won all of his heats, even if he was chlorine covered and dripping wet. The girl that screamed and cheered for him even if he lost his heat.

His Wise Girl.

The girl that he cared for. The girl that he would do anything for. The girl that he would take a bullet for. The girl he would go through thick and thin for. The girl that he would die for.

Percy knew that he would be Annabeth's best friend. Her protector. Her brother. Anything that she needed him for. He prefers a thousand needles to his legs rather than watch someone hurt Annabeth. If Mark ever gave Annabeth any problems, Percy would be there to throw the first punch. If Rachel ever taunted or teased Annabeth, he would the first shoulder offered to Annabeth.

No one would ever hurt her. Percy wouldn't let anything happen to her. He would be Annabeth's human shield.

Nothing could hurt his Wise Girl.

He loved her.

He did...and he knew it. And he couldn't stand the thought of letting his friend date her. Percy couldn't fathom the thought of Annabeth kissing Travis, or even holding hands with Travis. When he saw Annabeth and Travis together at their lockers, he wanted nothing more than to rip Annabeth away from Travis and tell her how he really feels.

But Percy knew that Annabeth cares about him and putting Annabeth through the internal dilemma of choosing between Percy and Travis would hurt her so much. Running away from her was worse enough...and seeing the pain in her eyes as she slowly walked away from him caused a huge black hole to erupt in his chest.

Percy never wanted to hurt Annabeth but he couldn't stand seeing them together.

He loved her...

**_SCENE CHANGE_**

When Percy finally made his way to first period, he was already fifteen minutes late.

"Mr. Jackson," his English teacher, Mr. Carson said. Percy lingered at the hallway, waiting for his teacher to give Percy a long speech in front of the class. "Thank you for joining us...fifteen minutes late for class. What were you doing that was so important to make you this late?"

He tried not to make eye contact with Annabeth, Katie or Connor but he could feel their penetrating eyes on his face.

Percy shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant when he answered. "Just stuff."

He didn't bother to start heading toward his desk because he knew he would just have to face Annabeth sooner than he wanted to.

"Stuff? Like what?" Mr. Carson said in his usual condescending, patronizing tone.

Percy shrugged again. His stomach began to twist and contort as he slowly lifted up his face to look at Mr. Carson. In the background, he saw Annabeth staring at him with sad eyes. _No, no, no! _He thought to himself. _Please don't be sad!_

"Is it as important as getting to class on time?"

"Well-."

"Was a family emergency? Was a personal emergency worthy of an excused tardy?"

Percy sighed. "That's a good question," he mumbled around his breath. He felt his cheeks redden and his ears burn up. Percy could feel Annabeth's gray, stormy, starry eyes on his own.

"What was that, Mr. Jackson?"

"No, sir," Percy croaked. "Just count me tardy...," Percy muttered, trailing off. He began to make his way toward his desk, slowly and relunctantly.

Why did he have to sit by her? Out of all people?

Percy didn't make eye contact with Annabeth, not even taking the initiation to acknowledge her existence. "Go on," he mumbled, meekly. Percy slowly took out his English spiral and waited for Mr. Carson to continue. "I'm listening."

* * *

"What should I do?" Annabeth asked.

Travis sighed. He grabbed his lunch bag outside of his locker. "Annabeth," Travis put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder, flashing her a crooked smile. "I think you need to understand something about my plan. There will always, _always _be bad before good." Travis slammed his locker shut before walking off down the hallway full of bustling teenagers. "For example, whenever I prank Katie, I'm telling you, I always have problems. Like the time that I glued down everything on her desk in her bedroom with this special formula glue that Connor and I created. We ended up getting my hand stuck to the desk. But no need to fear, we got it off...," Travis sighed, "In about half an hour. But either way, there will always be bad before good. Clearly in this situation, your relationship with Percy will be strained but when my plan slowly starts to unfold, he will admit his love for you and you two can skip across a field while the sun is setting just like every cheesy romance movie. Don't worry Annabeth, this is _supposed _to happen."

Annabeth tightened her grip on her paper sack.

"Are you sure, Travis? You're not always right."

Travis snickered. "Come on, Chase." Travis slyly glided his arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "You know for a fact that when it comes to mischievous plans like this one, I'm always right. There's no denying it!"

Annabeth sighed. "I'm not so sure about that."

"You need to lighten up. Like way up!"

"Why are you so annoying?"

"Why are you so controlling?"

"_Wow_," Annabeth over-enunciated, "Travis Stoll actually came up with a decent-ish comeback. So surprising."

Travis rolled his eyes. "Your stupid."

"Funny coming from the guy that failed algebra in the eighth grade."

"Okay, you know that my teacher sucked!" Travis snapped. "Besides, your not that good in math, either.

Annabeth snickered. "You're talking to girl that's in college math."

"Yeah, yeah, ye-." Travis stumbled forward, nearly spilling the contents of his lunch bag. "Hey!" He shouted in irritation. "What the...?!" Travis and Annabeth spun around to stare at the person that fell into the Travis but they came to a slow stop, appalled at who it was.

"Percy...," Annabeth whispered. She uncomfortably composed herself and smiled at Percy.

All she got in return was a cold stare. Quickly, her green-eyed Seaweed Brain stalked off toward the cafeteria. She watched him with disappointment as he joined up with his swim mates, who she assumed he was going to sit with today.

"Damn," Travis said. "Percy is really taking this seriously."

"Yeah...," Annabeth whispered, tears brimming her eyes. "I know."

"I wonder why Katie is reacting like Percy is. Maybe we should take our relationship to the next level."

Annabeth turned to glare at Travis, swallowing back her tears. "No. Way. In. Hell. Percy is taking this a lot more seriously than I thought he would and I can't risk hurting him anymore. I can't bare seeing pain in his eyes." Annabeth sighed. She began to pick her paper lunch bag. "Poor Seaweed Brain."

"Annabeth," Travis said. She felt him wrap his arm around her waist and expected him to pull her into a loving embrace, "You're pyscho. You know that?"

Annabeth scowled. She tore Travis's arm away from her. "I hate you Stoll. I hate you."

Travis grinned. "Nah. You love me."

"No...just no."

They made their way slowly to the cafeteria. Annabeth had reluctantly allowed Travis to hold her hand, careful to make sure that Percy never saw them. When they reached their table, she noticed that Percy didn't save a seat for Annabeth. In fact, he wasn't even sitting there. Instead, Percy was located with his swim mates at the jock table, which was at the very end of the cafeteria, far away from where Annabeth sits.

She sighed and sat down in the two remaining spots that Thalia had saved for her and Travis.

"You're welcome," Thalia said, smugly.

"Thanks, Thals." Travis replied, winking at her. "Come on, my love, let's sit." Travis grabbed Annabeth by her wrist and eased her down beside him. He kept his hand intertwined with hers as he began to open up his lunch bag.

Connor, Katie and Grover stared with her mouths dropped at Travis. Even Annabeth was a little surprised. He was really laying this on thick.

"What are you? Pretending I'm Katie?" Annabeth muttered low enough so that no one could hear him.

"I'm trying to make Katie jealous. The plan is already working for you...but not for me."

"Did you ever think that maybe it's just because Katie doesn't actually like you?"

Travis slowly pulled his ham sandwich away from his mouth and stared at Annabeth with pure but exaggerated shock. "Come on, Annabeth! You know for a fact that Katie likes me. She's just quite good at hiding her emotions."

"Whatever. Just don't come running to me when Katie doesn't go for you."

"Trust me, Annabeth," Travis grinned, "Katie will like me."

**_SCENE__ CHANGE_**

Annabeth was walking down the high school stairs when Travis had started to call her name. He was running down the cement stairs, racing to keep up with Annabeth's brisk pace.

"Annabeth! Annabeth!" He yelled as he ran down the stairs.

Annabeth sighed. She turned around, clutching the strap of her backpack and smiled. "Yes, Travis?"

Travis grinned, his white teeth sparkling in the sunlight. "Do you wanna go down the park with me?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "The park?"

"Yeah, you know the place with the swing sets and the children running around, giggling like there isn't a care in the world."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to go there?"

"Doesn't my _girlfriend_ want to go to the park with me?" Travis smirked. "Come on, we need to make this relationship a little bit more believable. How else could you explain why Katie isn't taking this as seriously as Percy?"

"How do you know it's not because she doesn't like you?"

Travis laughed. "Annie, everyone _knows_ that Katie likes me. So will you come with me, or what?"

Annabeth sighed. "Sure. Why not?"

"Yes!" Travis cheered. He grabbed Annabeth's book-free hand and started to run, dragging her along.

Neither of them had a car and so they were walking the whole way. Somehow Travis was in better shape than Annabeth and so he effortlessly led the way to the park that Annabeth used to go to with her two twin brothers, Bobby and Matthew. Children were already there, running along, bounding across the park. They were playing tag games, giggling and screaming as they tried to escape the tagger. Some children were commanding their mother to push them on the swings while others were too busy squealing as they rode down the slide.

Travis grinned as he dodged a group of screaming kids. "Don't you love this place?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I haven't gone here in so long." She looked off at the woods lining the edge of the playground. She remembered going on walks with Bobby and Matthew when she was just about thirteen. "Last time I was here was four years ago."

Travis laughed. "Why so long?"

"I moved away from my step mom," Annabeth mumbled.

She looked up to see Travis's smile fade. "Oh. You went here with Bobby and Matthew."

It wasn't question. "Yeah...but then I moved away." Annabeth felt the wave of tears in her eyes and she began to bite down on her bottom lip, an old trick she used to do to prevent herself from crying.

Travis sighed. "You wanna go for a walk?" He asked and for once, his tone sounded more understanding and compassionate.

"What?"

Travis gestured toward the forest. "Do you wanna go for a walk? Plus, you're apartment is on the other side of the forest. Two birds in one if you ask me."

Annabeth laughed. "Sure."

They made their way to the forest, laughing as little kids giggled and tripped on the playground, their parents desperately trying to make sure that they stay safe.

"I can picture that happening to Thalia and Luke," Travis said as they made their way through the forest.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"You know: having two out of control kids when their only twenty five and not even being able to keep up with them."

Annabeth laughed. "I think it'll be twenty two."

Travis snickered. "That makes sense."

They finally made their way to the forest. The trees loomed above them, but the canopy wasn't very thick and so the light from the sun bled through the leaves, brightening the place up. Bark and dead leaves cracked under Annabeth and Travis's footsteps.

"It's pretty here," Travis said, smiling. He readjusted his backpack on his shoulders and began to slow down, allowing himself to take in the scenery.

"I used to walk in this forest all the time with Bobby and Matthew." Annabeth pointed toward a tree that had an owl perched on it. "We would see animals all the time. Bobby and Matthew always entertained themselves by trying to name the little creatures. I remember they even tried to catch a bird. Didn't work out too well."

Travis looked at his fake girlfriend as she smiled, observing the critters and animals in the forest. He could see the sparkle in her eyes. "You know Annabeth, if you weren't yourself and instead were Katie, I would kiss you right now."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "What the...?"

Travis laughed.

For the rest of the way, they continued walking in silence. They slowly made their way through the forest, observing the gorgeous, dewy leaves that sparkled off of the sunlight. Annabeth felt safe here, as if the forest was a place to escape the real world. The real world of pain...and love...and confusion. She wished Percy could things easier on her. She wished that she could just tell Percy how she feels.

She wished that Percy was here right now, instead of Travis.

"Well, here we are," Travis said as he and Annabeth walked out of the forest. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

Annabeth laughed. "I think I can take it from here."

Travis sighed. He held out his arms. "Well, don't I get my goodbye hug?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes but she returned Travis's embrace. "Fine, whatever." After about a second, they broke apart. "Well," Annabeth smiled, "See you."

Travis grinned. "See you Bethie." And Travis quickly ran off back into the forest.

Annabeth snickered. "Dumb ol' Travis." She began walking down the sidewalk, toward her apartment complex. She rounded the corner, glowing from her most recent trip from the forest. When she turned the corner, she nearly screamed. "Percy?!" She gasped.

Percy Jackson was leaning against the wall. He had a vacant and distant expression on his eyes but his body language read otherwise. He was stiff, uncomfortable and angry.

"Annabeth," Percy mumbled.

"Um...where were you at lunch? I...we all wanted you there." Annabeth felt her cheeks flush a red that was brighter than Taylor Swift's signature lipstick.

Percy shrugged. "No room."

Annabeth sighed. _Yeah, sure__. _

_"_Well, maybe tomorrow."

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, Annabeth."

Annabeth groaned. "Why not?"

Percy glared at Annabeth, his gorgeous eyes scorching with burning anger. "It's not likely you'll care if I sit with you! You'll be too focused on Travis!"

Annabeth gasped, stunned. "Well, you know what?! At least Travis has the ability to say how he feels instead of being a coward."

Percy laughed malevolently. "What the hell are you talking about? Being a coward?!"

"Obviously Travis is more of a man than you! He can actually say what's on his mind. Your too much of a baby to say anything. You just hide behind your little swimming friends."

"What are you getting at?!"

"I'm trying to say that, unlike you, Travis isn't a coward! And you _are_! You're too chicken to tell anyone how you feel."

"Well, what am I supposed say?" Percy demanded.

"Tell me how you feel about Travis and I."

Percy sighed. He's voice softened, "I think you know how I feel." He looked up at Annabeth in the eyes - green on gray. She could see the pain lingering in his eyes. She could see how devastated he really was. She finally understood how torturous this was for him and how terrible she was making him feel.

"I...I have to go," Percy mumbled and he quickly turned on his heels and began to stomp away.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted loud enough for him to hear.

But he just continued to walk away.

Annabeth clutched her stomach, the pain tearing at the insides of her chest. "Percy," she whispered. Her legs gave out on her and she clasped against the wall, clutching her stomach. Tears flowed down her cheeks, smearing her mascara. "What have I done?" She whispered to herself.

Annabeth let herself cry for a couple more minutes before forcing herself to stand up and began walking to her apartment complex. As she made her way there, she pulled out her cell phone and began to call Travis.

"Yes, my love?" Travis joked.

"Travis!" Annabeth choked through a sob.

"Annabeth? What's wrong?"

"I can't do it anymore. I can't take the fact that Percy –."

But Annabeth was cut by two beefy hands. One hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to whoever it was and the second was pressed firmly against her mouth. In shock, she dropped herphone and begun to tug at the stiff hand at her mouth. Annabeth's assailant began dragging her farther away from her phone, into the depths of the dark alley way.

Travis's muffled voice carried through the silent alley way.

"Annabeth? Annabeth?!"

**OHHHHHHHHHH! CLIFFIE!**

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	15. Chapter 15

**So I finished planning out this story and I'm telling you that will be thirty chapters, plus an epilogue! Once I'm at around Chapter 25 or 26, I'm going to start my new story. :)**_  
_

**Speaking of which, if you haven't voted for my poll check out my profile page to vote! Also, if you have voted take a look at my profile also because I posted a summary of all the possible stories. And I'm just going to say that I probably will be making all of those ideas into a story so if the one you like doesn't win, don't worry.**

**AND OMG THIRTY FOUR REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER FOURTEEN! I FRICKING LOVE YOU GUYS 3**

_Previously on NKAGHS:_

_"Travis!" Annabeth choked through a sob._

_"Annabeth? What's wrong?"_

_"I can't do it anymore. I can't take the fact that Percy –."_

_But Annabeth was cut by two beefy hands. One hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to whoever it was and the second was pressed firmly against her mouth. In shock, she dropped her phone and begun to tug at the stiff hand at her mouth. Annabeth's assailant began dragging her farther away from her phone, into the depths of the dark alley way._

_Travis's muffled voice carried through the silent alley way._

_"Annabeth? Annabeth?!"_

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

"Annabeth? Annabeth?!" Travis screamed into his phone. He was halfway through the forest, far away from Annabeth. He turned around, dropping his thirty five pound backpack and began to run down the path. While he did this, he dialed Percy's number.

It rang.

"What do you want, Travis?" Percy snapped, coolly.

"Look, Percy, I know you're mad at me but I also know that you love Annabeth!" He gasped. "Don't try to deny it! Everyone knows!"

Percy sighed. "Do you need something?"

"YES!" Travis screamed. "I was on the phone with Annabeth! Then, something just happened. I don't know...but I think Annabeth is in danger."

"This wouldn't happen to be another ploy, would it?" Percy growled.

"No! Something happened. She could be hurt! Don't you care?"

"I...," Percy trailed off. Suddenly, Percy hung up.

"Please god," Travis prayed, looking up at the sky, "Tell me that Percy is going after her." And quickly, Travis began to sprint toward Annabeth.

* * *

The man that had attacked Annabeth locked his arms around her body and no matter how hard she struggled and kicked, she couldn't break free from his steel hard grasp. He was suffocating her, her lungs burning up in pure agony. She screamed for help but his clasp over her mouth was so strong that she knew her efforts were useless. Besides, who would walk down this disgusting alley that she was being taken to?

When Annabeth was far away from any human existence, the man finally took his hand off of her mouth and he forcefully slammed herself against the wall. She stifled a scream as her skull crashed against the brick wall. Annabeth caught her breath quickly and looked up to see her assailant. Her attacker was unbelievably tall with thick bands of muscle. A ski mask was covering his face.

"What...what do you want from me?" She tried to sound strong but she was so out of breath that she sounded as pathetic as the Cowardly Lion.

Her attacker, who was obviously a man just by their physical build, just laughed. He slowly edged his way toward her. He looked at Annabeth straight in the eyes and said very plainly, "I want you."

Annabeth gasped. "Who are you!?" She shouted.

"Shhhhh," he whispered. He bent down besides her and began to pull at her blonde hair.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed. She pushed his hand away from her and slapped him.

That was by far the stupidest thing that Annabeth could have done.

Angrily, her attacker hit her. She let out a soft moan and clutched the side of her face. Quickly, the attacker grabbed a hold of Annabeth's neck. He dragged up to her feet by her neck and threw her across the alley. She landed against the wall with a thud. Her head began to spin and a cool trail of blood trickled down her neck.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Please! Stop!" She screamed.

The man just laughed.

"Maybe you should have been a little bit nicer to me before or else I wouldn't have to -."

_CRASH! _Something hard was thrown at her assailant. It crashed into his shoulder. The man screamed in agony and stumbled, clutching his arm. Annabeth's savior ran forward, throwing themselves straight at her attacker. The man flew and crashed into a pile of trashcans.

"Travis?" Annabeth whispered. But when her hero turned to look at her, Annabeth gasped. "Percy..."

Percy stared at Annabeth with hero filled eyes. He ran to her and knelt, observing her condition. "You-you're bleedly." He gasped. Percy touched the side of Annabeth's face and moved her bloody hair out of her face. "Did...did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You need to get to a hospital!"

Annabeth laughed. "No, I don't. I'm fine, really."

"Annabeth, no you're-."

The man must have gotten up because before she knew it someone has wrapped their hands around Percy's shoulders and threw him across the alleyway. Percy crumbled against the side of the dumpster. The man began to saunter over to Percy, a blood-thirsty look in his eyes.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed. She managed to get to her feet but was still woozy from the first blow to her head. Annabeth stumbled forward and grabbed a hold of a rock, which must have been what Percy threw at the attacker. She positioned herself directly behind the attacker and raised her arm. The man must have detected her because he swiftly spun around and smacked her in her stomach. Annabeth crumbled to the ground.

"Annabeth!" Percy stood up and punched the man so hard in his face that he spun around.

The man collapsed onto the ground.

"Wow," Annabeth whispered. "Nice swing, Perce."

"Annabeth!" Percy shouted as he ran down to sit next to her. "Are you okay?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm fine, Percy. There's nothing to worry about."

Percy laughed. He offered her his hand. "Well, let's get you Travis. He was worried about you." Annabeth didn't take it. Instead, she just looked up at his face, longingly. "Annabeth...let's go."

"Percy," Annabeth sighed. She stood up by herself, ignoring Percy's offer. "There's something you should know about Travis and I."

Annabeth could see the uncomfortable expression in Percy's face. He bit his lip. "Annabeth..."

"No, I need to get this. Look, Travis and I...," Annabeth began to play with her blood-stained hair. "W-we aren't actually dating." She pursed her lips and looked down at her feet.

"What are you talking about? Annabeth?"

Annabeth gazed into Percy's eyes. "Well…Thalia and Luke, they tried to hook me up with Travis so they set us up on a blind date. Why they tried to do that? I don't know for sure but we ended up talking and Travis came up with a plan that we could pretend to date." Annabeth felt ashamed and guilty with every word that she said. She focused on Percy's expression, trying to read every emotion that was on his face. "You're not angry, are you? I don't want you to be angry."

"I'm not angry…I'm just…," Percy fiddled with his hands, "Confused. That's all."

Annabeth sighed. _Better than being angry_, she told herself.

"What are you confused about?" She tried to sound calm but her voice was shaky and her legs felt like jello. Maybe she _should _visit the hospital. Was she going into shock?

"Why did you do it?" Percy very plainly asked her.

Annabeth hesitated. She knew why she agreed with Travis: she was desperate for Percy to know how she feels. She wanted him so badly. She loves him. But she couldn't confess that to Percy. She felt foolish for believing that Travis's plan would work. She felt like an idiot to believe that something so stupid would have a positive outcome. It was a new low, even for Travis.

Percy sighed. "That's what I thought."

"Percy," Annabeth whispered. She clenched her fists together in tight balls.

_Just spit it out_, she told herself.

"I – I think I love you," She whispered.

Percy's eyes widened. "You what?"

"I love you." She said louder. Annabeth magically built up enough courage and repeated herself, this time louder and assertively. "I love you Percy Jackson. That's why Travis and I pretended to date because we were trying to make you jealous…. Because I love you."

Percy gaped at Annaebth and suddenly Annabeth didn't feel so good.

"D-do you…," Annabeth trailed off. "You don't."

It wasn't a question.

Annabeth tried not to look at Percy's face. She felt stupid and foolish. Why did she tell Percy how she felt? It's obvious that Percy just viewed her as her friend. "I have to go," she mumbled. She began to make her way past Percy.

"Annabeth!" Percy shouted. He grabbed Annabeth's shoulder. "I love you too."

"W-what?" Her voice cracked. "You do?"

Percy smiled. "Since the first time I've saw you, I couldn't get you out of my head. I think…I think I'm in love you. My Wise Girl."

Annabeth let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh."

"Yeah…."

Annabeth sighed. _Why did this have to be so awkward?! Shouldn't Travis be here soon and crack some funny joke to ease the tension?_

"Um…thanks," Annabeth mumbled. She glanced at the unconscious assailant. "For saving me."

Percy grinned. He edge closer to Annabeth and began to gently massage her bruised arms. "Anything for you, Wise Girl." Percy slowly leaned in until their lips met. As they kissed, Annabeth felt her hands move across his back and press against his spine. She could smell his cologne – the smell of the ocean in the morning – and inhaled deeply. Annabeth never wanted to let go of Percy.

Ever.

"Keep your filthy, disgusting hands off of my sister!" She heard her brother Malcolm yell and suddenly Annabeth felt Percy being yanked away from her.

She watched in terror as herbrother lifted his fist. "MALCOLM, NO!" But it was too late. Percy fell flat on the ground, clutching his nose.

Then, Malcolm was able to get a clearer look of who it was. "Oh SHIT," he shouted. "Uh…Percy?" Percy looked up at Malcolm. Annabeth sighed in relief to see that he wasn't bleeding. "Uh, my bad." Malcolm held out his hand for Percy. Percy grinned and took Malcolm's hand. "I thought you were…well, yeah."

Percy chuckled. "Nah. I think you're looking for that guy." Percy gestured toward the unconscious man.

Malcolm snickered. "Wow. You really kicked that guy's ass. Do you wrestle or something?"

Percy grinned. "Competitive swimmer."

Malcolm laughed. He turned to Annabeth approvingly. "I like this kid. Much, much better than Travis."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Annabeth said with a smile.

Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth. "Thank god."

**Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, that was a cute chapter…maybe the ending with Malcolm was kind of stupid but…yeah…**

**Hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving ;)**

**I'm planning on updating Goode High School for Insane Youths and Speak Now this week**

**Let's go for … 15-20 reviews :D **


	16. Chapter 16

**IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT GOODE HIGH SCHOOL FOR INSANE YOUTHS:**** I am having severe, severe, ****_severe _****writer's block for this story. IT IS FRICKING KILLING ME! Anyway, I'm posting this because I just wanted to tell you that I might not get around to updating this for a week or two :3 sorry! I keep trying to write the next chapter but it just DOES NOT live up to my expectations. Normally, I wouldn't mind but this chapter is crucial to the story line.**

**I'll try to update it as soon as possible.**

**POLL NEWS:**** I've decided that after I post Chapter Eighteen I WILL BE TAKING THE POLL DOWN! After I add up the votes from guests, I'll post the two winners in Chapter 19.**

**So if you haven't voted, VOTE! And if you're a guest, post a comment of which story you like most! YOUR VOTE DOES INDEED COUNT!**

**And now, let's continue on with 'New Kid at Goode High School.'**

_Chapter Sixteen_

Travis had arrived just a couple minutes after Malcolm. He was brandishing a heavy, thick stick that he must have grabbed from the forest. When Travis realized that Annabeth was safe in Malcolm and Percy's hand, Travis uncomfortably threw the stick to the side. "Oh, hey Percy."

Percy grinned. "Travis, what took you so long?"

"Hey! That forest is fricking huge!" Travis said defensively.

Percy just laughed.

"Well, thanks for calling me Travis," Malcolm said, patting Travis on the back. "But I still don't like you that much."

Travis grinned, arrogantly. "You're just saying that because I glued the tops of your pages of all your little architect nerd books together."

"You did _what_?!" Malcolm growled.

Travis's eyes widened. "Oops."

"I am so glad Annabeth isn't dating you," Malcolm mumbled.

"Speaking of which," Percy started. Percy glared at Travis and lightly struck Travis on the back of his head. "That's for forcing Annabeth to be a part of your dumb little plan."

"First of all, OW!" Travis shouted, massaging the back of his temple. "And second, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Come on, Travis, give it up." She put her arm around Percy. "But I must say that the plan did work out."

Travis scowled. "For you it did," Travis mumbled. "Katie, for some crazy reason, still really hates. Why can't I have good luck like you, Annabeth? Maybe…," Travis's eyes light up, "Percy, you could pretend to mug ME and then Katie would save me."

Annabeth face palmed. "You're stupid."

"Hey! A guy has got to try!"

* * *

The police arrived just a few minutes afterwards. They dispersed, some going straight to the assailant and arrested him. A few, however, went straight to Annabeth, Percy, Travis and Malcolm for questioning.

"So, what happened?" Ronald Martesh asked him.

Annabeth quickly began to explain the sequence of events. "Well, I was talking my friend," Annabeth pointed to Travis, "When he came behind me and dragged me back here. He pushed against the wall," Annabeth cringed, "And he started to threaten me so I hit him. Then, we got into a physical altercation…when Percy arrived."

"And then that happened." Percy gestured toward the unconscious man.

The officer snickered. "Nice work there buddy. You would be a good asset on the police force."

Percy smiled. "Oh, I think I'm good."

Ronald laughed. "Oh well."

"But I promise I'll keep the option open," Percy joked.

Ronald smiled, thankful for Percy playing along with the joke. "You, Miss Chase," Ronald faced Annabeth with a grin, "Are very lucky for have such an amazing friend as this young man."

Annabeth smiled. He wrapped his arms around her petite waist.

" I know I am," Annabeth said, grinning.

She waited for the officer to leave to kiss Percy.

"Like he said, I am soooo lucky."

Percy smirked. "I know you are."

"Annabeth?!" Athena shouted. She ran into the alleyway and gasped as she stared at her daughter's unconscious assailant. She turned, horror-struck, at her daughter and Percy.

"Mom," Annabeth mumbled. She pulled her mother into a firm hug. "I'm fine."

"He could have," Athena rambled. "You could have…. Oh my gosh..."

"Mom, I know…but I'm fine. Lucky for me, Percy was around." Annabeth looked at Percy and smiled at him, her gray eyes glowing.

Athena turned to face Percy. She held out her hand and clutched his hand graciously. "Thank you." She said through tears. Athena hesitantly pulled Percy into a gentle hug. He uncomfortably patted her back.

"Um…mom," Annabeth whispered.

Athena cleared her throat. "Right. You, missy," Athena pointed her finger accusingly at Annabeth, "Are very lucky."

Annabeth smiled. She felt Percy wrap his arm around her. "I feel lucky. Trust me."

Athena smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"Annabeth?!" Someone came from behind Annabeth. They rested their hand on her shoulder.

Annabeth jumped.

"Whoa, relax. It's just me." Annabeth quickly turned around, her eyes wide, only to see that it was Luke.

Annabeth sighed in relief. "Luke!"

"Travis called me and told me about what happened. Are you okay?" Luke opened his arms and pulled Annabeth into a comforting hug.

"I'm fine, Luke," Annabeth reassured. They pulled away, "Are the others with you?"

"Yeah. We were out getting pizza when we heard the news. They should be here a minute."

Right on cue, Thalia, Nico and Katie sprinted into the alleyway. They were panting and out of breath. Katie was clutching her side.

"Where's Connor?" Luke asked.

"Dumbass stayed back to get the pizza," Thalia clarified.

Luke scoffed. "Of course he did."

Thalia, Nico and Katie reached Luke's side. "You're okay, right?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Thanks to Percy." Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand and clutched it as if her life depended on it.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" Nico burst out. "I thought you were dating Travis."

"Technically, they were never dating," Percy explained. "They were just faking it."

"_Why_?" Katie argued.

"They were trying to make us jealous." Percy gestured toward himself and Katie.

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Me? Why me?"

Thalia scoffed. "Come on, Katie. It's obvious that Travis likes you."

"Hey guys." Travis said, walking over.

_Perfect timing_, Annabeth thought to herself.

He had a large grin on his face. "What's going on?"

Katie turned to Travis. "Travis, it is true that you just pretended to date Annabeth because you were trying to make me jealous?"

Travis's cocky smile faded. "Um…."

"Travis, cat is out of the bag. Just admit it," Annabeth said, slyly. She wrapped her hands around Percy's arm. "I did and _everything _worked out just fine."

"Yeah, Travis," Katie said with a smile. "Just admit it."

Travis's eyes widened.

He's good with pranks…just not with words.

"Um…well, I…uh," Travis looked at Katie. He slowly inched closer to her as he stuttered. "Well, I…uh…." Quickly, Travis grabbed Katie's face and thrust himself at her, kissing her passionately.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "What the…."

Luke laughed.

"Yeah, Trav!" Someone called from behind them. Annabeth looked up to see Connor, munching on a piece of steaming cheese pizza. "Get some!"

Travis pulled away from Katie and scowled. "Damn it, Connor!"

Katie laughed. She held Travis's hand and started to lead him away from the others. "Come on, let's go. We can go back to my place. And you know, _study_."

Travis's eyes widened and he quickly began to drag Katie in the direction of Katie's house.

Luke laughed. "So weird."

Annabeth snickered. "You were just as bad when you meet Thalia."

Thalia laughed. "Yeah. Besides, I think it's romantic."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Thalia Grace thinks something is _romantic_?" Thalia slapped Luke's arm. Luke snickered. "I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding." He leaned down to Thalia's face and gently peeked her on the cheek. "Come on, guys. Let's go back to my place. These two," Luke gestured toward Percy and Annabeth, "Have some things to do."

Annabeth blushed.

"See you guys," Luke said, winking at Percy.

They quickly left.

"_Finally_," Annabeth said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around Percy and gazed into his majestic eyes. "We are alone!"

Percy laughed. "I thought it would never happen."

"Thank you," Annabeth whispered. "For coming to save me, Seaweed Brain."

Percy laughed. "I won't ever let anyone hurt you, Wise Girl."

Annabeth smiled. She stepped on her tiptoes and kissed him.

**Sorry this was really short...**

**Awwwwwww, do you like those Percabeth moments…and that Tratie moment?**

**Did you like it?**

**Was it good? Bad?**

**REVIEW**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! Please, please, please check out my new story! Much appreciated! It's called 'Dear Luke' (and although it may seem Lukebeth...as the story unravels, IT'LL BE PERCABETH!)**

**Seriously, please, please, please, PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! Thanks so much!**

**I plan on updating 'Speak Now' pretty soon...as for Goode High School for Insane Youths...well I have some pretty bad writer's block on that story...I'll try to update as much as I can but I guarantee that the chapters won't be very long... :/ sry**

**On with the story!**

_Chapter Seventeen_

Percy dropped Annabeth off at her house a few minutes later. As he drove her home, he had his arm around her shoulder and Annabeth snuggled deep into his shoulder. When he pulled into the parking lot, Annabeth didn't move. She stayed in his arms, trying not to think about what just happened. Although she was hiding it well, she still was a bit shaken up.

What would have happened if Percy hadn't shown up?

He would have killed her. Or worse.

"Are you okay, Wise Girl?" Percy asked, concerned.

Annabeth met Percy's gorgeous, sparkling eyes. She grabbed his hand and involuntarily shivered. "I can't help but think about what could have happened if...if you didn't come." The images flashed through her mind and she began to quake.

"Shhhh," Percy soothed. He pulled her closer and began to gently massage her back. "It's over. Done with. The guy can't hurt you anymore and I won't let anyone else hurt you." Percy stared straight into Annabeth's eyes. "I promise you that no matter what happens, I'll protect you. I'll never put you through any harm or pain and I'll make sure that no one harms you or gives you any pain, either. I love you, Annabeth."

Annabeth smiled. She leaned up to his face and pressed her nose against his. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

**_SCENE CHANGE_**

"Annabeth! Time to get up for school!" Came her mother's voice. Annabeth's eyes popped and she smiled.

"Coming mom!" Annabeth shouted as she nearly jumped out of her bed.

She quickly began to get dressed in her outfit. Percy was supposed to pick her up this morning and she couldn't wait to see him. Annabeth ate the cereal that her mother sat on the table for her without saying a word, shoveling down her food in a matter of minutes.

"Someone's eager to get to school," Athena pointed out as she began to clear the empty cereal bowl for her daughter.

Annabeth shrugged.

"Are you meeting someone there?"

"I'm actually getting a ride to school today. It might take a while to get to school because of traffic so he's supposed to pick me up early," Annabeth clarified. She began to check her backpack to make sure that she had everything she needed.

"Him? You mean Travis?"

"No. Not Travis.

"Percy?"

Annabeth nodded, sheepishly. "Is that okay with you?"

Athena smiled. "Of course it's okay with me. Percy is nice boy. You should be thankful to have such a good friend like him."

"I am," Annabeth admitted. "Maybe even a little too thankful."

"Oh Annabeth, there's nothing wrong with being thankful for Percy. He admires you the way that you admire him. Besides, I would rather have you be driving around with that young man than that other boy. What's his name? Travis Stoll? What happened to him anyway? Malcolm told me that you two were dating. Did you breakup? Are you still together?"

Annabeth cringed. Of course Malcolm told Athena about her and Travis.

"We're not together," Annabeth said.

"What happened?"

Annabeth shrugged. She embarrassingly tapped her foot. "Mom, can we not talk about this? This isn't exactly something that mothers and daughters talk about together."

Athena laughed. "You're my daughter. I think this is something that I should talk to you about. Now, have you two kissed?"

"Mom!" Annabeth groaned. "For heavens sake! Travis and I broke up! End up discussion!"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, okay. No need to freak out about it. Just go get ready. I'll call you when Percy is here."

"Thank you!" Annabeth yelled as she stormed up to her bathroom.

She didn't own a ton of makeup so she guessed she'll have to make do with what she had. First of all, she began to brush her teeth thoroughly, but briskly too. Then, she took her blonde hair and put it up into a perfect bun, making sure that there was no strands of hair awkwardly falling out. Finally, she focused on her face. She never applied foundation and she felt it made her look trashy when she did. Plus, her skin was perfect so she skipped the foundation and went straight to the blush. She dabbed it on her face, illuminating her cheeks with the rosy makeup. Next, she applied a smudge of mascara and a little bit of lip gloss. Nothing else.

Annabeth wasn't much of a makeup girl anyway. Besides, Percy probably wouldn't want or like her wearing that much makeup anyway.

"Annabeth!" Athena called from downstairs while Annabeth was in the middle of redoing her hair. "Percy's here!"

"Crap," Annabeth whispered. She quickly slung her hair in a high ponytail. _I knew I should have just left it in a bun_, she thought to herself as she sprinted out of the bathroom. She slid her tan Uggs on and ran down the stairs.

There he was making small talk with Athena. Annabeth hadn't even realized how tall he was compared to Annabeth and her mother until she could actually mathematically compare the heights. He was towering over Athena and herself.

"Wow," she said, out loud, instantly regretting it. She flushed bright red.

Percy raised his eyebrows. "What?" He looked down self-consciously at his attire as if something was wrong with his outfit.

"It's just...I never realized how tall you were."

Percy grinned. "You're observing my height? Wow. You really are a math nerd."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "At least I _can_ do math."

"That's why I call you Wise Girl," Percy said, laughing.

Athena cleared her throat. "Wise Girl?"

Percy and Annabeth flushed beet red. "Umm," Percy mumbled, "That's just a little nickname we gave each other.

Athena smirked, "Mmmhmm. And Annabeth what is you're nickname to Percy?"

Annabeth shrugged. It's not like she just couldn't answer. "Seaweed Brain, because he loves swimming and he's not the brightest kid out there."

"Puh-_lease_," Percy over enunciated. "I'm as sharp as a tack."

"Yeah. Sure you are, Seaweed Brain. Let's just get to school before we're late."

"Whatever you say, your highness." Percy graciously grabbed her backpack for her.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "What happened to Wise Girl?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

Annabeth said her goodbyes to her mother and quickly followed Percy out the door to his car. When they were outside of the apartment, Percy quickly grabbed Annabeth's hands and pulled her small body close to his. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

Annabeth laughed. "What was that for?"

Percy smirked. "Can't a guy kiss his girlfriend?"

Annabeth's back tingled at the sound of his voice when he said 'girlfriend.' "I guess."

Percy laughed and opened the door for Annabeth. She smiled and entered. "How chivalrous," she pointed out.

As he entered his car, he continued, "Anything for you Wise Girl." He turned up the heat, tossing his backpack into the backseat. He grabbed Annabeth's and set it gently in the back. He backed out of the car and continued, "I like your mother. She seems cool."

Annabeth shrugged. "She's alright."

"She seems like a good mother."

"She is. So, what's your mother like?" Annabeth asked, changing the subject. "You never really talked about her too much before."

"What do you want to know?"

"Just tell me about her."

"Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the most amazing person that I've ever met. She's so selfless and cares about everyone but herself. I'm pretty sure she would leave halfway through a workday, which could cost her job, just to make sure that I was okay...not that I would ever let her do that." Annabeth analyzed Percy's expression. He smiled, his eyes sparkling.

"You love her."

Percy chuckled softly. "I do love her. Just as much as I love you."

Annabeth smirked. "You love your mother more. I'm sure of that."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Percy replied. "I love you both so much."

"Love you to Seaweed Brain."

**_SCENE CHANGE  
_**

"So it's true!" Someone shouted behind Annabeth and Percy, who were holding hands and walking to lunch time. The couple turned around to see Percy's best friend Grover running after Annabeth and Percy. "Percabeth is real!"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Percabeth?"

"Percy and Annabeth together. _Duh!_" Grover clarified, as if it was obvious. "Silena and Beck made it up when they found out about you two being together. Same with Tratie."

"Let me guess: Katie and Travis put together," Percy offered.

Grover grinned. "Yup," he said, popping the 'p.' "They're official as well. Finally, right!"

"All thanks to us," Percy suggested.

"Technically, it's all thanks to Travis's stupid little plan that got both us and them together," Annabeth explained.

Percy scoffed, "Wise Girl." She rolled her eyes playfully.

Grover raised his eyebrows. "What was Travis's plan?" Annabeth took the next couple of minutes before their first class explaining to Grover what Travis had created. "So that would explain why you and Travis were going out. Seriously, 'Tranabeth!' That sounds like a type of medication to help with stomach acid."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Okay then."

"But you got to admit," Grover continued, "Percabeth kicks ass."

"Percabeth," Percy repeated. "I like the ring to that."

"It's cute, I guess," Annabeth mumbled. "Percabeth."

"And let's not forget good old Tratie."

Annabeth laughed and kissed Percy on the cheek. "Let's not."

"Awwwwwwwww," Grover cooed. "How adorable!"

"Shut up, Grover!" Percy and Annabeth said simultaneously.

Grover just laughed.

They reached the cafeteria in no time. They're whole table was practically occupied, except for three empty spaces: one for Annabeth, one for Percy and one for Grover. Annabeth and Percy sat down hand in hand.

"Percabeth!" Nico shouted as he spotted Annabeth and Percy.

Annabeth blushed. "How many people do you think know about Percabeth?"

"Just about everyone," Grover explained.

Annabeth sighed. "Great."

"Oh relax Annabeth," Percy said. He grabbed her hand. "It's fine."

"No! It's embarrassing!" Annabeth argued.

"It's adorable!"

"It's stupid!"

"You're stupid!"

"That's coming from the boy that calls me Wise Girl."

Percy's eyes narrowed and Annabeth grinned. She knew she had won this playful, verbal argument. "I guess you have a point," Percy mumbled.

"You know I do."

"But I still think it's cute"

"Just like I think your cute," Annabeth whispered. She leaned in to Percy, her lips barely brushing Percy's lips.

Suddenly something grabbed Annabeth's shoulders and ripped her away from person. Someone shoved themselves between Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth growled and looked angrily at the person wedged between the couple. "Guys! Please no PDA!" Connor groaned.

"Say that to your brother!" Percy snapped. He grabbed Connor and pushed him off of the cafeteria bench.

**Awwwwww wasn't that a cute chapter?! Oh well, at least, I thought that was a cute chapter. There was a bunch of Percabeth moments :)** **Next chapter, I'm planning on having Annabeth meet Sally Jackson next chapter.**

**Don't forgot, CHECK OUT MY NEW STORY 'DEAR LUKE!'**

**Let's shoot for 15 reviews :) **

**Remember the quicker I got reviews, the quicker I update :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU HAVE A FUN WINTER BREAK!**

**Don't forget to check out my new story! ;)**

**Hey guys! Anyone who's my 250th, 275th, and 300th reviewer gets a special preview of the upcoming chapter!**

_Chapter Eighteen_

After lunch, Annabeth and Percy walked hand in hand down the hallway toward their next class. Percy, who had graciously took her books for her and rested them on top of his, was in the middle of telling Annabeth about how he wanted to go karoaking tonight with the rest of his friends. He had already managed to find out that Rachel _won't _be at the cafe, since she and Mark are going on some stupid date for the night.

"I don't know, Percy. I have homework," Annabeth argued.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Homework. Shmework."

Annabeth sighed. Percy and his childish antics.

"Come on Wise Girl. I already talked to the rest of the gang. They're all down for karoaking. They haven't gone in so long. You wouldn't want to spil their fun, would you?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Percy!" She groaned. "Why do you like karoaking so much, anyway?"

"Come on! Don't you remember how much fun you had last time? When I was singing that song?" Annabeth flashed back to when Percy and Luke were singing _Sexy and I Know It. _Percy noticed her smiling, "See?! You did enjoy it!"

"It was kind of funny," Annabeth admitted.

"Which is exactly why we should go again! You don't let loose that often and I think this would be the perfect opportunity to do that. Come on! Please!"

Annabeth sighed. She looked up into Percy's eyes, which was her biggest mistake. He was doing his adorable, puppy dog eyes. Annabeth couldn't resist that.

"Fine!" She mumbled, disappointed in herself. Wasn't she supposed to be the stubborn one? "I have to talk to Athena first to see if it's okay with her."

Percy kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, WG."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "WG?"

"WG: Wise Girl. Duh!"

"Can't you just call me Wise Girl?"

"But WG is so much cooler!" Percy defended.

Annabeth playfully raised her eyebrows. "You're so obnoxious."

"Isn't that why you love me?" Percy joked.

"I guess," Annabeth admitted, chuckling. She leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed Percy on the cheek.

Percy examined Annabeth on the very top of her toes. Percy snickered. "Wise Girl, you are _so _short." Percy continued to ogle at Annabeth's 5'5" figure. He tucked one of her blonde locks behind her. "Really short."

Annabeth punched Percy in his arm gently. "Don't judge the vertically challenged, Percy and I won't judge the educationally challenged, _Seaweed Brain_," Annabeth challenged.

Percy raised his arms in surrender. "That's why I call you Wise Girl. You always have the best comebacks."

Annabeth just laughed.

* * *

"Did your mom say yes?" Percy asked as Annabeth walked toward him, her heavy backpack around her shoulder.

"Seaweed Brain, school just ended. I haven't gotten the chance to call her," she clarified. She took Percy's hand and they started to leave Goode High School. "What exactly was I supposed to ask her again."

"Ask her if you can go karoaking tonight and if you can just go straight to my house after school since I'm going to drive you there anyway. It'll save gas and time," Percy pointed out. "Besides, you can also finally meet my mom. I've told her so much about you and she's dying to finally meet you,.

Annabeth shrugged. "I do actually really want to meet your mom." As they stepped outside into the chilly weather, Annabeth pulled out her cell phone. They stopped near the cement staircase leading down to the parking lot. "I'm calling her right now." Annabeth dialed the number and waited.

It took a surprisingly long time for Athena to answer. "Hello?" She sounded tired. "Annabeth?"

"Hi, mom. I was just wondering if I could hang out with Percy and my friends tonight."

"Of course! Of course!"

"And could I just go over to Percy's house since he would be driving anyway? Just to save gas?"

"Of course you can go over to Percy's. But remember, no S-E-X!" Athena spelled out.

Annabeth blushed. "Mom!" Percy raised his eyebrows.

Athena laughed. "I'm joking. I'm joking. Have fun tonight. Don't do anything illegal. Get some homework done. And don't come home to late! I don't want to be up all night worried about. Love you honey."

"Love you mom," Annabeth grumbled and she hung up her phone.

"Did you say yes?" Percy asked.

Annabeth smiled. "Of course she did."

"And what did she say that made you blush?" Percy asked, interested.

Annabeth shrugged. "It's nothing important."

"Come on. Just tell me!"

"No."

Percy glared at her as menacingly as she could. "Annabeth Chase. Tell me."

Annabeth laughed. She got into the passenger seat of Percy's car. "No." Percy sighed, knowing that he had lost this battle. He jumped into the driver's seat and shoved the keys in the ignition. It made a slow, purring sound and Percy quickly pulled out of the parking lot.

"How far is your apartment?" Annabeth asked as Percy began to race down the road.

"Not very far. It'll be about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on traffic." Percy informed.

"Oh. So, are we just going to do homework until we leave? Or what?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "What is with you and homework?!"

Annabeth sighed. "Seaweed Brain, if you do homework, you get good grades. If you get good grades, you get into a good college. And if you get into a good college you-."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Percy interjected. "I get it! I get it! But it's not like you have to worry about not getting good grades or anything. It's impossible for you to fail _anything _when it comes to school."_  
_

"I can very easily fail assignments if I don't turn them in."

Percy rolled his eyes again. "Whatever."

The couple continued to bicker about school until they finally reached their destination.

Annabeth wouldn't describe it as a shabby apartment, just a cozy little place. It was a little bit run down compared to Annabeth's with the uncut vines growing on the side and the small bits and pieces of bricks missing. She noticed a couple of kids running out of the apartment complex. She smiled at the sight of them. There were hardly any kids at Annabeth's apartment complex. Just a bunch of business people. She stepped out of the car and followed Percy inside. He led her to the elevator and they waited patiently for it to bring them to the tenth floor.**  
**

When they opened it, a middle aged woman was waiting outside. "Hello Percy," she said with a smile.

"Hi Mrs. McLondon," Percy replied.

"Who's your friend?" She asked.

"Annabeth. We go to school together."

"Well, hello dear." She smiled at Annabeth and then stepped into the elevator before it closed.

"That was my neighbor," Percy clarified. "She's a good family friend."

"Oh," Annabeth smiled.

Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and led her to his apartment. He fumbled with the keys a little bit before unlocking his apartment. He gently eased Annabeth into his kitchen. The kitchen seemed vintage in a way with its fading floral wall paper and the small white cabinets. Slaving over the dishes was Percy's mother, Sally Jackson. She was petite, a lot smaller than what Annabeth had expected. Mrs. Jackson had thick, curly brown hair and caring, loving brown eyes. She was wearing her dish apron.

"Percy. Your home...and you brought a friend," Sally said, turning around to her son and his girlfriend. "Who's this?"

"Mom," Percy said, stepping forward, careful not to block Sally from view of Annabeth. "This is Annabeth Chase. We go to school together."

"Oh Annabeth Chase! My son has told me so much about you! It's a pleasure to meet you, Annabeth," Mrs. Jackson said. She wiped her hands off and turned off the running water.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Jackson."

"Oh please, dear, call me Sally. So what are you and Percy doing tonight?"

"I thought you already told your mom," Annabeth said, turning to Percy.

Percy shrugged. "We're just planning on doing some homework and then going to this little cafe with all of our friends."

"Are you hungry? I can cook some food," Sally offered.

"Oh no, we're fine," Annabeth argued.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. We really should be starting on our homework, if you don't mind. We both have an English essay to do," Annabeth clarified.

"Well have fun," Sally said with a smile.

Percy groaned, "How can you have fun when you're writing an _English essay_?"

Annabeth laughed. "Come on." She hesitantly grabbed his hand, "We'll do it together."

Sally took interest in Annabeth holding her son's hand. "If you need me, just come out here."

"We'll be fine," Percy said. He didn't release Annabeth's hand as they made their way to Percy's room. He opened the door for her. He dropped his backpack and jumped onto his bed. He opened his arms up for Annabeth.

She glowered at him. "I don't think so. We are doing homework. No exceptions."

"But Annabeth!" Percy complained.

"Don't 'but Annabeth' me! We are doing our homework." She grabbed Percy's backpack and threw it at me as hard as she could. "Let's get started."

He covered his face. "Hey! Watch it!" The backpack hit him in the arm. "Damn! That hurt!"

"I've got a mean swing."

Percy rolled his eyes. He unzipped his backpack and grabbed out his binder. "Yeah. I'm sure you do." Annabeth set her backpack on Percy's bed and joined him. She opened her planner and began to examine the homework that she needed to finish. "So what do you think of my mom?"

"She seems very nice." Annabeth looked up from her planner. "Does she know about us?"

Percy shook his head. "No but I think she figured it out. What about your mom?"

"I haven't told her but she's smart. I would be surprised if she didn't figure it out."

"She likes me, right?" Percy asked. "Your mom?"

"Of course. You're much better than Travis. Let's not forget that."

Percy laughed. He grabbed Annabeth's hand experimentally, waiting to see if she was going to push him away. She didn't, though. Percy slowly pushed his binder out of his hands, moving Annabeth's planner off of her lap. It fell onto the ground. Hesitantly, Percy pulled Annabeth into the nook of his arms and he leaned back against his pillow.

"So about tonight, are you going to sing?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Probably not."

"Come on, Annabeth." Percy took Annabeth's face in her cheeks and forced her to look at him in the eyes. "Will you please sing? For me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't beg Percy. It makes you look desperate."

"So is that a yes?"

Annabeth sighed, "Maybe."

"Yes!" Percy shouted. "I can't wait!"

"I have a feeling that I'm going to regret that," Annabeth mumbled.

"Relax! You're going to enjoy this!" Percy guaranteed.

"Yeah. I'm sure I will."

* * *

By the time that Percy and Annabeth were getting ready to leave, Annabeth had finished a good chunk of her English essay done. Percy, on the other hand, was nowhere near being finished.

"I'm going to fail that English essay," Percy told Annabeth as they were in the car, making the way to the cafe.

"No, you're not. I'm not going to let you."

"Awwwww," Percy mocked playfully. "My girlfriend cares about my grades!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Shut up! Of course I care about your grades! Why wouldn't I?"

Percy shrugged. "Maybe it's cuz you think I'm too much of a Seaweed Brain to do any good in school."

"Oh, you're not stupid Percy!"

Percy scoffed. "You think I'm a total derp."

"Derp? Really?"

"Shut up."

Annabeth laughed.

They pulled up in the cafe. Percy quickly jumped out of the car and raced to Annabeth's side and opened it for her. He grabbed her hand and kindly helped her out. They started making their way to the cafe door.

"So," Percy started, "You are going to sing, right?

"I already told you that I would."

"Good!" Percy said, grinning.

He opened the cafe door and led Annabeth to their table. Luke, Thalia, Connor, Travis, Katie and Grover were already their waiting. "There they are!" Grover greeted. "Finally! Percabeth arrives!" Annabeth sighed. She still hadn't forgotten their little nickname that their friends created. "The party is complete."

"Where are the others? Aren't Silena, Beck, Clarisse, Chris, Nico and Juniper coming?"

"Nahhhhhh," Thalia clarified. "Nico got grounded since he failed a test."

"Juniper is at some environmental protest rally," Grover informed.

"Chris and Clarisse are working out," Luke pointed out. "And Silena and Beck are out on a beach vacation thing. They don't have school for the week."

"Lucky them," Annabeth mumbled. She grabbed Percy's hand and scooted into the booth. "Luke, are you planning on singing again?"

"God, no! I'm still pissed at Travis for that Sexy and I Know It video."

"Come on, Luke!" Travis defended. He had his arm wrapped around Katie's shoulders. "You got to admit that that video was hilarious! I'm sure Thalia gets a good kick out of that every time she watches it."

"You actually watched that?" Luke gasped, appalled.

Thalia snickered. "A lot."

"So I'll take that as a no?" Grover asked.

"I will _never _do it again." Luke responded.

"Well, someone has to go!" Thalia said.

"Annabeth said she would," Percy brought up.

"Percy!" Annabeth groaned.

Percy winked at her and pecked her on the cheek. "Hey everyone!" Percy called out of the cafe, who were mostly just young couples or teenagers. "She's going up to sing!"

The cafe started to cheer.

Annabeth blushed. She stood up. "I hate you Percy." She quietly told the DJ her song and he handed her the microphone. Annabeth nervously fumbled with the microphone. She turned to face her audience, focusing on Percy's beautiful eyes. He was grinning broadly.

_Remember those walls I build_  
_Well baby their tumbling down_  
_They didn't even put up a fight_  
_They didn't even make a sound_  
_I found a way to let you in_  
_But I never really had a doubt_  
_Standing in the light of your halo_  
_I got angel now_  
_It's like I've been awakened_  
_Every rule I've had you breaking_  
_It's the risk that I'm taking_  
_I ain't never going to shut you out  
Everywhere I'm looking now  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby I can see your halo  
I know your my Saving Grace  
You're everything I need in more  
AnIt's written all over your face  
Baby I can see your halo  
Pray it won't fade away  
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)  
Halo, oooooh  
_

Annabeth began to step away from the stage and make his way toward Percy's table. His eyes were sparkling in the dim light of the cafe. He was beautiful, a god.

_Hit me like a ray of sun_  
_Burning through my darkest night_  
_You're the only one that I want_  
_Think I'm addicted to your light_  
_I swore I'd never fall again_  
_But this don't even feel like falling_  
_Gravity can't forget to pull me back to the ground again_

_It's like I've been awakened_  
_Every rule I've had you breaking_  
_It's the risk that I'm taking_  
_I ain't never going to shut you out  
Everywhere I'm looking now  
I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby I can see your halo  
I know your my Saving Grace  
You're everything I need in more  
It's written all over your face  
Baby I can see your halo  
Pray it won't fade away  
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)  
Halo, oooooh_

Annabeth sat down on the table. She caressed Percy's cheek as she continued singing.

_Halo, oooooh_  
_Halo, oooh  
____Everywhere I'm looking now_

___I'm surrounded by your embrace  
Baby I can see your halo  
I know your my Saving Grace  
You're everything I need in more  
It's written all over your face  
Baby I can see your halo  
Pray it won't fade away  
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)  
Halo, oooooh_

Annabeth leaned down and kissed Percy on the lips. She whispered quietly, "You're my Saving Grace, Percy Jackson."

**Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww w, wasn't that a cute ending?! I hope all my readers have a happy holidays!**

**Sorry if there's a ton of grammar mistakes or missing words...**

**How about you leave me a little review as my Christmas Present and I'll give you a late Christmas present of a quick update!**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

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	19. Chapter 19

**Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't update earlier...don't really have any other thing to say than that but yeah...I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating...it's been like fifty months since I last updated...**

**Anyway, I know that I promised that i would update earlier...but I kind of forgot...anyway, I hope you enjoy this story and don't forget to REVIEW!**

**WARNING: EXTREME PERCABETH FLUFF IN THIS CHAPTER :D**

**Well, here we go!**

_Chapter Nineteen_

"I can't believe you got me to sing in front of everyone," Annabeth groaned as she stepped outside of the cafe. She envisioned herself up on stage, her face bright red, her legs shaking violently. "That was humiliating."

"Annabeth!" Percy argued, "You sounded beautiful. You don't give yourself enough credit. And the song you picked was perfect."

Annabeth nervously laughed. "Thanks Percy. But next time, you're going up there."

"Yeah, whatever you say."

"Seriously, you owe me!"

"Was it really that bad? Didn't you enjoy yourself even a little bit?"

"Well I guess it wasn't that bad. I liked the song...," Annabeth mumbled as she twirled her hair.

"Yeah, I'm sure you enjoyed the person you were singing it to a little bit more," Percy mocked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Yeah, I do think so."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself Percy," Annabeth said, grinning as Percy pulled to stop to respect the stop sign. "It might make you look arrogant."

Percy gave Annabeth a cocky grin. "But you love me so it's okay."

"Whatever," She chuckled.

"Just get in the car."

"Um, I don't think so. _I _want to drive," Annabeth argued.

Percy laughed. "Yeah, whatever. Get in princess."

Annabeth folded her arms. "I'm serious. You made me sing in front of everyone. Now I want to drive."

Percy looked at his care and then back at Annabeth. "But Annabeth...t-this, this is my baby."

"I thought I was your baby."

"You both are... You share the title!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. She held out her hand for the keys.

"Annabeth!" Percy whined.

"Percy, give me the keys!" Annabeth pursued.

"Fine!" Percy growled. He handed Annabeth the keys in annoyance and sulked into the passenger seat.

Annabeth chuckled to herself as she stepped into the car, turning up the heat and changing the radio station into something that Annabeth found a little more preferable: classical music.

"Oh Annabeth!" Percy groaned. "Isn't letting you drive the car torture enough? Are you trying to kill me with this?"

Annabeth gasped, pretending to be offended. "But Percy, this is all I listen to! Are you saying that I have no taste in good music? That's very offensive. Looks like I'm just going to have to turn it up."_  
_

"Nooooooooooo!" Percy grumbled.

Annabeth snickered, sneaking Percy an evil grin.

"You're horrible," Percy mumbled, as he shrunk into his seat.

"You love me."

"Yeah," Percy mumbled sarcastically.

And soon the conversation dulled, leaving Annabeth to focus on driving and leaving Percy to focus on Annabeth in secret. He studied her flawless face: her perfect, blemish-free face, her sparkling gray eyes, her dazzling smile, and her gorgeous, curly, blonde hair. She looked like an angel crafted from the heavens and gifted to him.

"You know something," Percy whispered as Annabeth slowly pulled the car to a stop. "You're kind of beautiful." (**A/N Total twihard moment right there)**

Annabeth chuckled, and gave Percy a smirk. "You're not bad yourself."

"I'm serious," Percy snapped, playfully. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

Annabeth quickly put the conversation on hold as she parallel parked perfectly in between a lamppost and a small green Slugbug. She looked into Percy's eyes, her gray eyes glowing underneath the moonlight. She caressed Percy, running her fingers through his hair. "Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if you had never moved to Manhattan. But I guess it was just fate. The better question is, how did _I _ever get so lucky? I was nothing without you. I was the school nerd, the girl who gets picked on by Rachel. With you, it's so much better now. I don't feel despair when I go to school. I don't feel self conscious due to what Rachel says. You aren't as lucky as I am, Percy."

Percy smiled. He wrapped his arm around Annabeth and pulled her as close as they could. He gently pushed her blonde out of her face and stared into her eyes. "Face it Annabeth. We're both lucky we found each other."

"Agreed," Annabeth whispered, their lips leaning closer together. She felt their lips touch, Percy rubbing her back in soothing circles as Annabeth ran her fingers through his wild mane. The kiss became more passionate and Annabeth felt herself leaning in closer and closer to Percy, almost completely out of her chair. They stopped to take a breath before continuing on. She leaned closer to him, until Percy changed his stance, his back pressed all the way against the two chairs, with Annabeth on top of him.

Their make out session continued.

As Percy trailed soft kisses down Annabeth's neck, Annabeth, breathless, spoke, "Don't you think I should go inside? My mom might be wondering where I am."

"Five more minutes." Percy continued as he began to kiss my jaw and my cheek.

Annabeth laughed. She leaned up, pulling away from Percy, who frowned. "Hey!" He shouted.

Annabeth took a deep breath, running her fingers through her matted hair. "We'll finish this tomorrow on the way to school. She helped Percy up and they stepped out of the car together. She kept her hand in Percy's as they skipped up to Annabeth's apartment. They stopped just outside of Annabeth's door. She looked up at Percy. "Try to finish your homework tonight."

Percy glared at her. "I finish my homework."

Annabeth laughed, as she stood up on her tiptoes, puckering out of her lips. "Yeah, two days after their due." She pecked Percy's lips playfully.

Her continued glare at her, but Annabeth noticing a smiling appearing at the corners of his lips. "Whatever. I'll say you later Wise Girl."

"See you tomorrow Seaweed Brain." She gave him another more passionate kiss. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning to look at Percy one last time. She kissed him, still remaining inside of her house. "I love Percy she whispered, closing the door in front of her.

"Love you too Annabeth."

* * *

School the following day was atrocious. Percy and Annabeth discovered that Luke was going to California to visit a couple of his friends, which left Thalia in a more than irritated mood. Whenever she spotted Annabeth and Percy kissing, or even so much as holding hands, she would flip out. Worst yet, Percy was given a hard time by Annabeth and Thalia because he got a B- on a pop quiz that their teacher finally finished grading. Annabeth and Thalia both received an A+ on theirs.

"Look," Percy defended as he, Thalia and Annabeth started walking down to lunch, "I had swim meets all weekend and I didn't get the chance to read the section very carefully. It's not my fault."

"Percy," Thalia groaned as she picked up her book bag, "Sometimes I wonder what goes through your brain."

Annabeth sighed, "Sometimes Thalia, I wonder if he even HAS a brain."

"Hey!" Percy shouted, offended. "You know, I don't appreciate you guys making fun of me all the time. I'll have you know that I'm a very smart student that's gotten a straight 3.7 GPA."

Annabeth chortled. "Honey," She said, running her hands through her hair, "I've had a straight 4.0 GPA since kindergarten."

Percy snorted. "Overachiever."

"Underachiever," Annabeth retorted slyly.

"Love Birds, do me a favor and shut up!" Thalia snapped.

"Jeez, Thals!" Annabeth said as they started off toward the cafeteria, "Just because Luke is out of town doesn't mean you have to go kill everyone else's fun."

"Puh-leaseeeee! It means exactly that," Thalia retorted.

"How long is Luke going to be gone?" Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear as they sat down in the cafeteria.

Annabeth leaned in toward Percy. "Another four days."

"God help us."

"Hey Annabeth," Katie said as she sat down beside her blonde friend.

"Hi Katie. Where's Travis?"

"Getting yelled at by his teacher. He was back-talking her again." Katie sighed, "Only he can get in trouble three times during a single class period. I can't wait to see the damage that he can do in his afternoon classes. How was your classes together?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Lame."

Thalia sighed, "Crappy."

Annabeth grinned. "Amazing."

Percy moaned and turned to look at his girlfriend, "Again. OVER. ACHIEVER."

"Again. UNDER. ACHIEVER."

Katie laughed. "You sound like Travis and Connor, except usually their arguments are about me." Katie began to play with her slice of pizza.

"Connor still doesn't approve of you?" Percy asked.

Katie shrugged. "It's not that he doesn't like me or anything. It's just hard for Connor. He thinks he's going to become the third wheel and everything, now that Travis and I are together. Travis assured him that that isn't going to happen."

"Yeah. I'm sure their plotting another prank against you," Annabeth pointed out, smiling.

Katie glowered at her friend. "If he is, I swear I'm going to rip their hair out."

"God, can we stop talking about couples?!" Thalia snapped. "How about we talk about something a little bit more interesting. Like what we're doing for spring break. Well, I don't know about you guys but Luke and I are going to do a lot of-."

"Okay! Let's just stop there!" Percy shouted, chuckling.

Thalia glared at him. "I was gonna say that Luke and I were going to do a lot of partying!"

"More like a lot of PDA," Connor snorted, as he appeared suddenly, gliding into a free seat.

"Yeah, and maybe some other stuff," Travis added as he took a seat by Connor.

Thalia glared at them. "Shut it Stoll."

"Relax Thalia," Someone said from behind her. "I'm sure their just joking."

Annabeth flinched, recognizing the voice. She looked up, staring at Rachel with disdain. "What are you doing over here, Dare? And where's your stupid boyfriend?"

Rachel sighed. "Look, Annabeth," She started. "Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

**Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhh, cliffy?!**

**Anyway, I'm gonna go write an essay right now and then start Goode High School for Insane Youths :)**

**Sorry this isn't the best edited draft, or the most well written, or the longest chapter ever, I really just wanted to post SOMETHING.**

**Please leave me just a tiny little review...**

**Please?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! I'm back for another update! Sorry for taking so long. I need to get better at updating...**

**Anyway, new thing! For every hundredth, twenty-fifth, fiftieth and seventy-fifth reviewer will receive a brief preview of the coming chapter. This goes for ALL my stories...so if you want a preview REVIEW!**

**Well here we go! On with the story!**

_Chapter Twenty_

Annabeth, still a little shocked from Rachel's sudden bravery said the first thing that came to her mind, "Why should I come to talk to you?" She said it a little harsher than she had antipicated, and Rachel, taken aback by her tone, winced.

Rachel sighed. "I understand where you're coming from Annabeth, but I really do need to talk to you."

"She doesn't want to talk to you Dare," Thalia interjected, a nicer comment then what Annabeth had wanted to say.

Rachel winced again. She turned to her former friends, hoping for anyone to show a little sympathy and compassion toward her.

No one gave her any.

She finally turned to her last resort: Percy.

"I know that I was mean to her, but can you please convince her to come to talk to me?" Rachel begged. Annabeth's boyfriend refused to look at anyone, staring down at the floor.

Annabeth scoffed. "As if Percy would listen to _trash _like you."

"Annabeth!" Percy snapped, and she fell silent, surprised by Percy's tone.

Annabeth tentatively looked at her friends, who helplessly stared at Rachel, dumbfounded. Percy, who didn't seem at all worried about Rachel, very calmly nudged Annabeth, indicating for her to follow Rachel. But his girlfriend seemed extremely nervous about the thought of having a talk with Rachel.

"Annabeth, please?" Rachel pleaded. "It's important."

"Annabeth, just go," Percy reassured, annoying Annabeth even further. Shouldn't he be taking her side? "What's the worse that could happen?"

Annabeth immediately began to think of nearly every horrible possibility that might occur.

But Annabeth, refusing to look fearful in front of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, stood up and gestured for Rachel to go. "Fine," she spat, icily.

Rachel looked thankfully at her. "Thanks." Annabeth remained expressionless and silent while she followed Rachel out of the cafeteria. She could feel Percy and her friends' stares on her back. Then, Rachel rounded a corner and soon Annabeth found herself in a nearly deserted hallway alone with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, her enemy.

"What do you want Dare?" Annabeth snapped immediately.

Rachel cringed at the malice in Annabeth's voice. "Look…Annabeth…I…," she trialed off, chuckling nervously. "The reason why I called you out here – alone – was because I needed t-t…I needed to apologize." The words came out so fast, and soon Rachel's face matched the color of her hair.

Annabeth froze, her eyes wide with pure shock, the expression, the emotion returning to her face. "You wanna what?" Her voice came out in a gasp.

Rachel took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to dash away from Annabeth, attempting to hide embarrassment and humiliation that she was undoubtedly feeling. "Annabeth, I-I was thinking about before…and the kind of person that I was and I realized that I was a horrible person, a horrible friend. And I want to apologize. No…I _need_ to apologize for the person that I was."

Annabeth stared at Rachel, her mouth wide open and let out a very involuntary gasp. Did Annabeth really just hear those words come from Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the girl that Annabeth refused to talk to her, the one that made Annabeth miserable, the one that terrorized her life for almost three years, the girl who nearly made Annabeth drop out of Goode High School? Was Rachel Elizabeth Dare finally realizing who she was, and what kind of person she had become? Was it because of Mark? Did they breakup?

"Why?" Annabeth asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Rachel sighed, knowing that this was the difficult question that she was going to have to answer. "Because...because I realized how much I missed you guys...all of you. I miss Connor and Travis's pranks. I miss Katie's reactions to them. I miss Thalia beating up on Nico. I miss how kind Luke was. And I miss you. You were my best friend, and even though I didn't treat the way that I should have, I still appreciated you, and when you guys all of a sudden talking to me...I-I hit rock bottom. I was angry at all of them, especially you, for just abandoning me. I turned into what I am now, and took all my anger and disappointment and sadness out on you. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that..."

Annabeth still struggled to understand what Rachel was saying. Did Rachel mean that? Was she was truly, genuinely sorry for everything that she had done?

"After everything that you've done, how could I trust you? I almost dropped out of school because of-," Annabeth cut herself off when she noticed that Rachel was crying.

It was a strange thing to Rachel Elizabeth Dare cry. She was so headstrong, so stubborn, practically immune to tears and yet there she was crying into her hands, and Annabeth was only person that seemed to pay attention, that seemed to _care._

"Oh Rachel," Annabeth whispered, pitiful.

"If I hadn't turned into what I was, and just tried to be nicer to you, everything would have been different," Rachel mumbled, wiping tears away from her mascara-stained cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth. D-do you...do you forgive me?"

Annabeth hesitated.

This was the important make it or break it question. Would she forgive Rachel? Would she forget everything that Rachel has ever done for her? Would she ultimately choose to look past the horrible deeds that Rachel has done and accept her back into the group that she once belonged in? _  
_

Annabeth took one last look at the teary-eyed Rachel and whispered her answer.

"Yes."

Yes: the three lettered-word that could change the rest of the year for Annabeth. The one word that held so many different outcomes and consequences. What would happen now that Annabeth decided to forgive and the forget that one person that terrorized her life. The one person that would relentlessly Annabeth every possible second of the day.

"I forgive you Rachel," Annabeth said, clearly, no regret in her voice.

Rachel looked up at Annabeth, a large smile plastered on her face. And suddenly, Rachel grabbed Annabeth and threw her into a massive bear hug. "Thank you so much Annabeth!" Rachel shouted, attracting the attention of many confused students.

Annabeth laughed a little. "Come on."

She kindly took Rachel's hands and brought back into the cafeteria.

The first to react was Thalia. She let out a strange, muffled shriek when she saw Annabeth bringing Rachel to the table. The next was Travis and Connor, who, for once, remained silent, staring at the strange sight. Finally came Katie, who was staring wide-eyed at Annabeth and Rachel. the lastly, the most important of all: Percy. he had a funny grin on his face, the one that Annabeth loved so dearly.

"Annabeth," Travis mumbled, his voice stern. "What in the hell is going on?"

Annabeth sent Rachel a distressed look. They both knew that this was going to happen.

"Um, guys, can you make some room for Rachel?" Annabeth said, shakily.

No one dared to move.

"Annabeth? Why is she here?" Katie said through clenched teeth.

"Go away Rachel! No one wants you here!" Thalia snapped, earning appreciative grins from Travis, Connor, and Katie.

"Thalia-!" Annabeth started, a little angry.

"Annabeth, it's okay," Rachel said, calmly. "You have to admit, that you knew that this was going to happen. They're not going to be as eager to forgive as you would be." She sounded gentle, kind even.

"F-forgive?!" Thalia shouted.

"I-I forgave Rachel for everything that happened before."

"You forgave her?!" Thalia repeated. "After everything that had happened?"

"She had her reasons," Annabeth mumbled, a little put out.

Thalia gaped at Annabeth. "She had her reasons?! Need I remind you what she did? She tortured you every single day of high school! She almost made you switched schools. Without us, you would be somewhere halfway across the nation. We stopped you from losing your best friends. Without us, you would have never met Percy. Do you really want to throw that all away because she _apologized?!"_

"Thalia-!" Annabeth started.

"No, Annabeth! It's either us or _her_."

Annabeth didn't know what to say. She looked back at Rachel and then at her friends, gasping at the frightful choice.

After a few seconds of silence, Thalia scoffed, rolling her eyes. She stood up, taking her tray along with her, "Here. Rachel can have my spot." She quickly stormed away, tossing her tray aside and ran out of the cafeteria.

"Or ours," Travis and Connor said together before following Thalia's example.

Katie took one last look at Annabeth.

"Katie," Annabeth started.

Katie shook her head. "You choose her Annabeth. We all know that." Then, she got up and left.

Just like the rest of them.

Annabeth took a seat next to Percy and leaned into his shoulders. She felt his protective arms wrap around her and he placed a very gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry Annabeth," Rachel whispered, leaning down to Annabeth's level. "This is all my fault."

Annabeth shook her and turned to face her former enemy. "Rachel, it isn't your fault. I didn't know that they would react like this. I thought they would be most understanding...like Percy."

Immediately, when Annabeth said Percy's name, Rachel looked up to gaze at him in awe. "Thank you for...you know...not treating me like I'm a horrible person."

Percy shrugged. He loosened his grip on Annabeth and turned to face Rachel a little closer. "Anyone that Annabeth trusts, I trust."

Percy extended his hand toward Rachel, and she smiled at him appreciatively.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as she took Percy's hand. They shook it for a few seconds, before Percy retreated his hand, gesturing for Rachel for a take a seat beside her two new friends.

* * *

The relationship between Annabeth and her other friends grew chilly, at best. Most of them just altogether stopped speaking to her, except for Travis or Connor, who occasionally said hi when they passed Annabeth, or when they came across each other in a class they had together. But Katie, who was almost always lagging a few paces behind Travis, would give Annabeth the cold shoulder as act as Annabeth was the enemy. But Thalia...Thalia was worse. She acted as if Annabeth didn't exist at all, as if she was just a figment of everyone _else's _imagination. If Annabeth were sit down beside Thalia at lunch and try to start a conversation with Travis or Connor, Thalia would butt in and talk to them, as if Annabeth wasn't even there.

But the only person that she could really rely on to always be there was just one person: Luke.

"I don't understand why they hate me so much...," Annabeth thought aloud, picking up a rock on the cliffside and chucking it into the ocean.

Luke, Percy, Rachel and Annabeth had driven for nearly three hours to get to Montauk Beach **(Is that right?)**, a beautiful in which Percy had vacationed at with his mom when he was young. They were planning on the spending the weekend out there all by themselves, just to give them all a little of separation from the cruel, outside world.

While Percy and Rachel, who had already been to Montauk multiple times, were setting and cleaning up their cabin, Annabeth and Luke decided to explore the beach. They found themselves trailing along a small, rocky cliffside that jutted out into the ocean.

"They're just worried about you, that's all. They'll come 'round," Luke reassured.

"Why can't they just forgive Rachel, like I did?"

"I'm sure it isn't that easy for them," Luke clarified. "Having to watch you go through what you did wasn't easy for us either Annabeth. We all hated seeing you feel like that, go to that extreme. I'm sure they're just acting like this because they're worried that something bad is going to happen to you."

Annabeth stopped where she stood and looked at Luke. "Are you worried about me?"

Luke gave Annabeth a small smile, "Of course I'm worried about you Annabeth. You're like my little sister. I, of all people, am the last person that wants to see you get hurt."

"Then how come you're not treating me like the rest of them?"

Luke sighed, pondering this question for a moment. "Because I know that there's nothing that I can do to convince you otherwise. If you trust Rachel, then I have to trust that you know what you're talking about. If you think Rachel isn't going to go back to being what she was used to be, then I think the same. I'm just the only person that's admitted so far."

"I doubt any of them are going to admit to that. Especially Thalia."

Luke laughed. "Don't worry about Thalia. She misses you already. By the next week, I'm sure you'll friendship will be has good as it's ever been."

Annabeth chuckled. "Doubt it."

"Annabeth, I'm serious. They all miss you. Sure, it won't ever be the same with Rachel around, but they'll learn to cope if they really want keep you as a friend. And trust me...they do. _Especially _Thalia. I don't think I've ever seen you as sad as she's been now."

"I miss her too," Annabeth sighed. She took a few steps closer to the cliff, before sitting down on the edge, dangling her feet over the harsh waves.

"Be careful, Annie," Luke warned, jokingly. "You wouldn't want to fall."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Like you'd let me."

Luke strolled over to Annabeth. "You never know. Some random, powerful wind might just come and push you over." In that instant, Luke gave Annabeth a sharp jerk and Annabeth let out a shrill scream as she desperately clutched the ground. Luke laughed. "I told you to be a careful."

Annabeth, outraged, stood up, glaring at him. "Luke Castellan," she spat, "I'm going to kill you!"

**Hahaha! Hey, no cliffie! That's always good!**

**Yeah, I know this chapter doesn't contain much Percabeth...but...it's getting there...**

**Sorry this chapter is kind of short...but I really did need to update**

**REVIEW PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

**~Juicyfruity39**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys...sorry I took so long to update...but school is almost over and so that means I can update more often :)**

**If you haven't gotten the chance to, and you read my other stories, I updated my other three stories last weekend so you should check it out!**

**Okay, so I completely rewrote the outline that I originally had for this story and I have planned that there will be around 32 chapters, plus an epilogue. There might be more and there might be less, but the amount of chapters will be around that number. Once I do finish this story, which I'm planning on, hopefully, doing over the summer, I'm probably going to start a new story…but I'll focus on finishing Goode High School for Insane Youths.**

**DUDE WE BROKE 300 REVIEWS!**

**Anyway, enough of me and let's get on with it :)**

_Chapter 21_

"Are you sure she was talking about today? Not next Wednesday?" Percy's mother asked, checking the window for the third time.

Percy shrugged. Percy had made plans with Rachel to go to her house and look at a couple of Rachel's paintings. She was supposed to pick him up at 5:30, but it was 6:15, and Rachel wasn't normally late. As Percy checked his watch for the third time in ten minutes, he felt a twinge of guilt. He blew of Annabeth, who wanted Percy to come with her to go to an architecture showcase, just so that he could see Rachel's paintings. And know he was worried that Rachel wouldn't even show up. Maybe Rachel was getting held up in traffic, or perhaps she was getting held up at her house. Rachel had told Percy that her dad was extremely protective of her, especially when came to boys. Just think about Mark. Mr. Dare probably wasn't too happy when Mark came knocking on his door.

"Yes, mom," Percy mumbled, "I'm sure she was talking about _this _Wednesday."

"Maybe she texted you and said that it won't work tonight," Mrs. Jackson offered.

Percy checked his phone for messages, although he knew that there wouldn't be any. "Nope."

Mrs. Jackson frowned. "Well, I don't think it's going to work, since she's forty five minutes late. I'm sorry, Perce. I know you were looking forward to this. I'll make you some food."

"Alright," Percy said, glumly. He was supposed to have homemade pizza with Rachel, but instead he's having Papa Murphy's version. He took small bites of the cheese pizza that Mrs. Jackson had put on a paper plate in front of me. "This sucks. I was really looking forward to this."

Mrs. Jackson sighed. "Did you try calling her?"

"Yeah. Twice. She didn't pick up."

"Try again. Third time's the charm."

Percy shrugged and took out his phone, dialing Rachel's cell phone number just a couple seconds after. It rung for a couple times, Percy's hope diminishing. Then, suddenly, the rings ended and Percy heard another voice at the end of the line. "Rachel?" Mrs. Jackson looked up in interest.

"Percy!" Rachel shouted, her voice slightly unclear, indicating that she must be in the car. "I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO sorry that I'm late. Like really late. My dad was being annoying and he was giving me a lecture about how I shouldn't bring home another Mark and I tried to tell him that you weren't anything like me Mark! But anyway, I like five minutes away! Again, I'm really, really sorry for being late!"

"Don't worry about. I'll see ya," Percy said, grinning.

He hung up his phone and looked at his mom. "Well?" She said.

"Her dad was giving her a hard time," Percy explained, getting his jacket and finishing the last couple of bites of pizza. "She'll be here soon. I'm going to wait outside."

Mrs. Jackson raised her eyebrows. "Alrighty then. You have fun."

"I will. Love you, mom," Percy said, kissing her cheek, before running outside.

By the time that Rachel picked up Percy, it was about 6:35. Rachel apologized profusely all the way to her house, but Percy practically ignored her, claiming that it was no big deal, and to Percy, it really wasn't. He was just glad that he didn't have to face Annabeth and tell her that the plans that he made with Rachel was canceled. Eventually, though, Percy convinced Rachel that he wasn't angry with her and so she stopped apologizing, although Percy could see how bad she felt just in her eyes.

When they first arrived Rachel gave Percy a quick tour of the place, although Rachel didn't bother to him a full description of every room. He noticed pictures of her family: a younger sister, a brunette mom and another redheaded kid. There was a room of Rachel's school photos, which were, according to Rachel, all equally embarrassing. At one point, though, they reached the top of the staircase leading to Rachel's room when they were sidetracked by a loud voice.

"Well, who would this be?!" came a booming voice. Percy looked up, startled, glancing at Rachel and then back at the direction that the voice came from. He looked over at Rachel, terrified, but Rachel just rolled her eyes. Percy heard footsteps, and slowly a figure appeared. He was a tall man with a scraggly orangish, red mustache and a balding head. Percy unmistakable knew that that was Rachel's father. "Rachel, honey, who is this?"

Rachel sighed. "This is Percy, dad. I told you he was coming over to look at some of my art."

"Art?"

"Art," Rachel repeated, looking at her father a little condescendingly.

Mr. Dare looked over at Percy. "And you're not going to do anything else, _right_?"

"Dad!" Rachel blushed.

Percy chuckled, despite Rachel's obvious irritation. "No, sir. Just looking at art."

Mr. Dare raised his eyebrows. "And how do I know that you're telling the truth?"

"Dad!"

"Rachel, the last time that a boy was in your room–." He said the words with such disgust, and Percy immediately knew that Mark was the boy that Mr. Dare was talking about.

"Dad, Percy is different."

"Mmmhmm."

"Don't worry, sir," Percy said, smiling. "I won't try anything on Rachel. After all, I have a girlfriend and it is _not _Rachel."

Mr. Dare smiled, satisfied. "Well, good. Now, go have fun. Are you going to eat anything?"

Percy shook his head. "No, sir. I already ate."

Mr. Dare grinned, "Stop calling me so sir. It's Phillip **(A/N I didn't know his name…)**."

"I'm so sorry about that," Rachel mumbled, as she and Percy stepped into her room, her face almost as read as her hair. "My dad can be a little embarrassing sometimes.

Percy chuckled. "Don't worry about it Rach. All parents are at one point. Just wait til you meet my mom. You'll be surprised by all the embarrassing, _awful _stories she's told about me."

"I doubt that," Rachel said, grinning.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't so sure."

Rachel laughed.

"So, now that you're finished getting embarrassed by your dad and I'm finished, let's see some art!" Percy said, grinning.

"It's over there!" Rachel said, pointing to cardboard box in the corner of her room.

Percy trailed over there and began to look at the pictures. He studied the vibrant colors and the patterns. He looked through a couple, the majority of them about the sea or the sunset. He loved them for the colors, the purples and pinks, or the sea greens and blues. Rachel studied Percy's expression, and smiled.

"They're great," Percy said, examining one that was of the sea. There was a cliff side in the corner, and waves were crashing against it, the vibrant green hues sticking out against the blue. In the top corner was a sun that glowed, surrounded by white, fluffy clouds. "Especially this one."

"Thanks," Rachel said, smiling. She studied Percy for a second more before whispering, "Percy."

Percy set down the piece of art that he was looking up at and looked at Rachel, who was staring down at her feet, playing with her fingers a little nervously. "Is everything alright Rachel?" Percy asked.

Rachel sighed. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Percy, c-can I tell you something?"

Percy shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Rachel let out a small chuckle, and took another step closer to Percy. Percy raised his eyebrows, but thought nothing of it. "Look, I just wanted say that, I understand why you wouldn't or didn't like in the beginning of year. I truly was an awful person to Annabeth Austin–."

Percy immediately understood where this conversation was going and he quickly said, "Rachel, you don't have to–."

"J-just let me finish this Percy," Rachel quickly said, spitting words out just to get the conversation over with. "As I was saying, I would understand if you refused to accept that I don't want to be that person anymore, like Thalia or Gillian, and all of them. I would get if you thought that I was terrible person, and that I don't deserve a second chance after everything that I've done. But, you weren't like that. You decided to forgive and forget. You, like Annabeth, decided to be the bigger person and gave me a second chance. And I was just wondering, why? Why did you just ignore and forget everything that I've done?"

Percy, who was a little taken aback by Rachel's question, stared at her for a second. "W-what?"

"Percy, just answer the question, _please_," Rachel mumbled.

"I-I guess it's because I knew that everyone deserves a second chance."

Rachel stared into Percy's eyes. She took another step closer to him. "Percy, Annabeth's really lucky to have someone like you. Brent never treated me like this. I was just another girl that he could call property. I was nothing to him. And after seeing the way that you treat Annabeth, and you two are together, I kind of wish I didn't waste everything on Brent."

Percy sighed. "You're going to find someone that's perfect for you and that understands you. I promise."

Rachel smiled at Percy. "Funny. Athletic. Kind…," Rachel took another step closer to Percy, and suddenly there only about a foot away from each other. She observed his gorgeous green eyes, and his spectacular black hair. "And beautiful."

Percy's eyes widened. "Rachel…"

"Imagine what it would be like I was Annabeth and Annabeth was me." Rachel closed the gap between the two, and suddenly Percy became surprisingly claustrophobic. He was about to step away from Rachel but Rachel grabbed a hold of him and attacked his lips.

For a second, Percy remained still in shock, feeling uncomfortable as Rachel pressing her lips against his in a violent kiss. Percy pulled Rachel away and stared at her, and suddenly, as Percy stared at her, something just changed. Percy examined her frizzy red hair, studied the freckles splattered across her face. And then, Percy lost control and pulled Rachel into a dazzling, heart wrenching kiss.

A few seconds passed and they pulled apart. Percy let out a sharp gasp, and kneeled on Rachel's bed, pressing his hand to his lips in anguish and fear. "What did I just do?"

"Something really, _really _stupid," Rachel whispered, looking back at Percy. "Oh my god, Percy, I…I don't what happened. I just had this urge…."

Percy stared in Rachel's eyes and stood up, shaking with fear and panic. "Oh my god, what did I just do? Did I really just do that? God, how could I be so stupid?!" He voice rang with franticness and anxiousness. He looked down at Rachel, who had her eyebrows raised. "Don't give me that look! Do you understand how bad this is?! God, if Annabeth finds out…," he trailed off, fighting back the unwanted images of what Annabeth's reaction would be. Percy turned to face Rachel, "We aren't going to tell anyone, we aren't going to _think _about it! Got it?!" Percy demanded, his face red.

Rachel shrugged.

"No! No! No! Don't shrug! Say yes! Annabeth cannot find out about this. This-this never happened between us! We spent the entire night looking at paintings and talking and blah, blah, blah. I never kissed you. You never kissed me. Just forget about this entire conversation!"

"Got it…," Rachel mumbled, and Percy felt a surge of pity. He could see the pain that Rachel was in, but Percy didn't have enough sympathy to try to make it better for Rachel. His mind was focused on making that sure Annabeth finds out.

It would kill him if he lost.

"I know it hurts Rachel," Percy said, quietly, resting his hand on her shoulder. They locked eyes. "But this isn't right. I love Annabeth, and I would never do anything to hurt. Not like this."

Rachel nodded. "Promise me this won't come between us," she whispered. "It was stupid mistake and I don't want to lose our friendship."

Percy smiled at her. "Of course this won't come between our friendship."

Rachel smiled. "Good."

**THE NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL**

The next day, Annabeth noticed Percy and Rachel's friendship that had grown literally over night. They talked to each other and laughed a lot more than Annabeth expected. In fact, Annabeth seemed a little _excluded_. She felt like Percy and Rachel were sharing one big inside joke that Annabeth wasn't a part of. A part of her felt glad that Percy and Rachel were becoming such great friends, but she jealous, especially because of last night. She had planned a nice evening with Percy, starting with dinner at her house and ending at the architectural showcase. Sure, Percy wasn't a big architect fan, but she promised she would do something with him in return.

But no. He just had to go with Rachel. Rachel this, and that Rachel. During class today, all Percy could talk about was Rachel and how good her art is and how amazing her house is. She felt trapped in a cage with all this Rachel talk.

"I just wish that he would shut up about her!" Annabeth grumbled to Luke, as they made their way to the cafeteria. "He didn't ask me how my day was yesterday. It was all just, 'Oh, guess what I did with Rachel?'"

Luke sighed, sounding as if he knew that this was going to happen. "Are you jealous of them?" Luke asked, gesturing toward Percy and Rachel, who were standing by each other and laughing, grins spread across their faces. Annabeth felt her stomach twist in irritation as Rachel and Percy stood to a halt, waiting for their friends.

"Wouldn't you be?" Annabeth mumbled, staring into Luke's eyes. "Imagine how you would feel if Thalia became awfully close with another guy. You wouldn't like it."

Luke shrugged. "We're not talking about Thalia and I, right now. We're talking about you and Perce, and right now, you don't seem too happy to even _look _at him."

"I'm just irritated," Annabeth mumbled. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why is Percy all of a sudden paying so much attention to Rachel? Even before, he only talked to her when it seemed polite. Now, he's always saying 'Where's Rachel? Maybe we should get Rachel.' There's something going on between those two."

"Emmy, think about it," Luke started, and she looked up into her best friend's eyes. "You're jealous. That's why you're thinking all of this stuff. I'm sure that there's nothing going on between Percy and Rachel. You just feel like there is because you're jealous."

"I am not _jealous_!" Annabeth shouted, a little louder than she had meant to.

Percy and Rachel looked at up at the two, with their eyebrows raised. "Why would you be jealous?" Percy asked, and he sent a quick look at Rachel, who did the same, hoping that Annabeth wouldn't catch it.

Oh, Annabeth caught it alright. "No reason," she said through clenched teeth.

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright? Are you mad about the architecture thing last night? Look Annabeth–."

Annabeth held up her hands in surrender, "Save it Percy. I not mad at you." She gave him her most reassuring smile, but she could tell that he wasn't convinced.

"Well good," Percy said, tentatively. They both shared a somewhat forced smile, but Percy extended his arms for her anyway. Annabeth smiled at Percy and embraced his hug, enjoying and milking every second of it. He quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek and the couple walked hand in hand down to the cafeteria, Luke and Rachel trailing behind them.

They quickly gathered around a cafeteria table and sat down, diving into their lunches. Immediately, Rachel took this as the time to ambush Annabeth. "So, you are going to be able to come to my party on Friday, right?" Rachel asked.

Annabeth, set her sandwich down and looked up at her friend. "I'm not sure…," she mumbled. The thought of going to a party wasn't exactly an appealing thought to Annabeth. In fact, she almost hated parties, especially since they were wild, crazy and there was usually alcohol. Imagine what her mother would say…

"Oh, come on!" Percy said, grinning. "Don't be such a kill joy!"

"I'm not being a killjoy," his girlfriend argued, "I'm just not a fan of parties. You know that."

Luke laughed, "But you love parties. You always have the best time that ours! Don't you remember Thalia's and my anniversary? You had a good time."

"But that's different," Annabeth mumbled.

"Come on Annabeth," Rachel said, pouting.

"Come on Annabeth," Percy said, putting on the same face that Annabeth found most enduring and irresistible.

Luke joined in, using a very high-pitched voice. "Yeah, come on, Annabeth!"

Annabeth laughed and sighed. "_Fine_. I guess I'll go."

Rachel squealed. "Great! This party is going to be fantastic. It's on Friday at 4:30 at my place. _Everyone_ is going to be there." Rachel quickly gave her best friend a huge hug before running off with her lunch to go spread the word. Annabeth watched as she perched herself by some girls that was in her homeroom class and told them about the party. As Rachel left, Luke did as well, his attention now focused on Thalia, who was sitting in a small circle with Katie, Travis and Connor. Luke gave Thalia a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting beside her.

"Are you absolutely sure you're going to be excited?" Percy whispered, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend, running his fingertips through the strands of her blonde hair.

Annabeth smiled. "Of course I'll be. I mean, it's just a huge party that she always throws."

Percy seemed to pick up on her attitude. "Bad past experiences?"

Annabeth grinned. "You have _no _idea."

Percy sighed. "Just remember that she's changed, Annie. So maybe you guys had a pretty rough breakup last time, but not anymore. You guys are practically best friends. I doubt that Rachel will do anything to hurt you."

"Y-you're right," Annabeth muttered, looking up into her boyfriend's beautiful eyes. "Nothing bad is going to happen. Rachel would never do anything to hurt me. And neither would you."

Percy laughed a little nervously, a twinge of guilt running through his body. He looked into his girlfriend's eyes, and kissed her forehead, caressing her cheeks. But in the pit of his stomach, Percy couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the other.

Annabeth had no idea just how wrong she is.

* * *

By the time Friday rolled around, Annabeth had to admit that she so extremely excited for Rachel's party. She went shopping on Thursday and bought a new pair of shorts and crop top just for the invite, although Annabeth would never be caught dead wearing something like this. The tank top and shorts were just a little flashy but Annabeth figured that she should let loose a little more often. Besides, she was convinced by Rachel, who had told Annabeth that Percy would fall in love with her even more if she wore that outfit. **(Check out the outfit on my profile!)**

When school was out and after Percy dropped her off at her apartment, Annabeth quickly ran to the bathroom to get ready. She took a nice long shower, carefully shaving and moisturizing her legs. Then, she focused on her appearance: letting her long, curly blonde hair fall in natural waves, adding a touch of mascara and blush. After sending about thirty minutes on her appearance, Annabeth stepped out of the bathroom and got dressed in her outfit, finishing off the look with a pair of owl earrings. And last but not least, Annabeth turned her collection of shoes and picked out a pair of silver sandals that was decorated with gems.

Finally, Annabeth was finished and waited for Percy and Luke to come pick her up. When they did arrive, Rachel had been right. Percy was memorized.

He stared at Annabeth, his mouth slightly ajar. The clothes that she was wearing accentuated her long, shapely, tan legS and made her look even more beautiful than usual. "You look gorgeous," he muttered as he gave Annabeth a long kiss.

Luke rolled his eyes, "Come on. Let's go lovebirds!"

By the time that the trio arrived at the party, most of the parking was already taken, but they had gotten and there was a spot open. They stepped out of the car, after taking ten minutes for Luke to do a very difficult parallel parking job, and made their way to Rachel's house. Annabeth could hear the booming sound of music blaring and the nearly muted mumbles of voices coming from inside of her fence. Rachel was waiting outside and grinned as she saw them.

"Hey!" She said, giving Annabeth a hug. "Love the outfit," she whispered in her eye before turning to the others. "Come on in! The party just started."

Although Annabeth had seen Rachel's house many times before, she was still shocked every time. It was at least three stories eye, with massive, sparkling glass windows, revealing a dazzling home with white walls, marble floors, a spiral staircase and glossy ornaments decorating the halls. In Rachel's backyard, the paved, cemented ground lead to a small grassy yard that had a volleyball court set up, and a pool shaped like the size of a squash and bigger than Annabeth's room. Along Rachel's fence was a table set up of _tons _of food, plates, sodas, napkins and massive glass bowl filled to the brim with red punch. "You're house is _so _cool."

Rachel shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. It's just a house."

"A _huge _house," Luke mumbled. He eyed the table filled with provisions and immediately set off toward it, Annabeth, Rachel and Percy trailing behind him. Luke grabbed a glass off of the table and quickly started taking large gulps, forcing the drink down his throat.

"Man, you must have really had a killer workout to make you that thirsty," Annabeth pointed out grinning.

Luke, who was in the middle of pouring his second glass, turned to look at her. "You have _no _idea."

"Why are you even working out?" Rachel asked. "You look perfectly fine to me."

"Thalia likes her men ripped to the bone with an eight pack," Luke pointed out, with a grin. "I don't think I've ever been this exhausted in my entire life."

Percy rolled her eyes. "Dude, why would you ever let a girl control you?" Luke nearly choked on his drinks, and Annabeth and Rachel both gave him the 'are you stupid' look. Percy immediately picked up on what they were trying to say, and he bit his lip. "Okay…maybe you're right…girls and their opinions should be taken seriously. But still, that doesn't mean that you have to work yourself until you have to drink fifteen glasses of punch, or until you can hardly walk!"

Luke laughed. "Oh, I'm just exhausted since I got a job. I am a mailman." Annabeth and Rachel both snickered, and Luke raised his eyebrows. "What? For your information, mailmen are extremely important to everyday societies."

"Oh, Luke," Annabeth rested her arm on his shoulder, "We're not laughing at you. We're laughing _with _you."

Luke scowled, "Yeah, whatever." Luke then looked down at the punch bowl and sighed. "But now that I think about it, I should probably stop drinking all this punch. It's almost out." He looked sheepishly at Rachel.

Rachel grinned, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that someone likes it. I can just go make another batch. Percy, you wanna come with me?"

This caught both Percy and Annabeth's attention. Annabeth, to be honest, wasn't surprised that Rachel was asking for Percy's help, especially since they've grown quite a bit closer over past week, but it was still shocking to Annabeth how many times Rachel and Percy did something together. As for Percy, he was surprised that Rachel was daring enough to want alone time with Percy, especially after…_that night_.

"That'll work," Annabeth said. "I can stay here with Luke, unless you guys want my help."

Rachel and Percy shook their head simultaneously. "Its fine," they said together, and quickly ran off.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Okay then."

* * *

Percy and Rachel quickly and practically ran into Rachel's kitchen, which was luckily deserted. Rachel went to her fridge, whistling a song and pulled out the necessary ingredients to make punch. Meanwhile, Percy stared at Rachel in awe as she worked, as if nothing was wrong.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Percy asked, his tone a little harsher than expected. "We were supposed to forget about it."

Rachel froze and turned to Percy. "I _have _forgotten about it. I just asked for you help. It's not like I wanted to bring you in here just for you to make out with me again."

Percy raised his eyebrows, "_Me _make out with _you_? I think it was the other way."

Rachel laughed, the sound of it dripping with malice and anger. "Are you kidding me, Percy?" She said, accusingly. "You are so stupid."

"Says the girl who made out with someone that wasn't really on the menu."

"It was a mistake," Rachel said, stiffly. "An honest, stupid mistake."

"Stupid is right. If Annabeth finds out…," he mumbled, and shivered at the thought of it. "Can you imagine how angry she would be?"

Rachel sighed, "Pretty angry." She turned her back on Percy, her face matching the shade of her hair, and returned to her work of making punch. "Percy, is everything okay between us? I don't want _that _to come between us."

Percy sighed, the vast majority of his attention focused on his thoughts. "Yeah, of course. You didn't tell anyone, though, right"

Rachel shook her head, "Of course, not. I wouldn't risk your relationship with her, and my friendship. Besides, she's already kind of mad at me since you decided to come to my house instead of painting, and I'm sure that this will push her over the edge." Rachel and Percy, as if reading each other's minds, turned simultaneously and looked at each other. "I really do like her, Dill. And I can't risk losing her again. I won't have any other chances."

"And if we get caught, I won't either. I love her Rachel, and to be honest, I don't feel that way with you." Percy could see the hurt in Rachel's eyes as he said that, but he knew that she needed to know. He wanted to make sure that there was no chance of them ever feeling _anything _toward each other.

Rachel nodded, "Of course. And I can't feel the same way with you, either."

"It would be wrong…"

"In every way."

Rachel and Percy looked up at each other in mutual agreement. They stared into each other's eyes, studying the partners of the veins in their orbs. Suddenly, something just washed over the both of them and took a few tentative steps closer to them. Percy tried to resist, but he couldn't. He had to admit that Rachel was beautiful, not in the same way as Annabeth, but still, Percy couldn't take his eyes off of her. Percy wrapped his hands around Rachel's waist and then looked closer to each other. Their lips grazed each other's mouth and hesitated.

"We shouldn't do this…," Rachel mumbled, though she was more focused on Percy's lips than anything else.

"I know…," Percy mumbled.

And their lips met. They didn't pull away for what seemed to be a very long time. Their passionate lip locking escalated as Rachel ran her fingers through Percy's messy hair, and Percy, succumbed in the moment, picked Rachel up and rested her on her counter. Percy took a quick glance at Rachel, before locking lips with her once again.

Rachel and Percy broke apart, grabbing each other's arms and gazing into each other's eyes. "We can't do this," Percy mumbled. "It'll kill her."

"Then let's stop it," Rachel whispered, breathless and leaned into Percy's lips once more without meeting a single shred of resistance. And their want for one another heightened as their lips attacked each other's.

* * *

Meanwhile, Annabeth and Luke leaned against the snack table. "I wonder what's taking them so long," Annabeth mused. Luke merely shrugged, too absorbed with his cell phone, quickly scanning through Thalia's message and then sending one in under five seconds. He hardly even acknowledged that Annabeth had spoken to him. She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to go look for them. Bye Luke." Luke, held his hand up and wiggled his fingers, as if waving to Annabeth, but there was no emotion or conviction behind it. Annabeth rolled her eyes and continued walking.

She made her way to the kitchen in a breeze. "Percy? Rachel?" She heard moans coming from the kitchen and Annabeth chuckled. "Oh, Percy and Rachel are gonna get a kick out of this," she whispered, grinning, as she turned the corner to see who was making out in Rachel's kitchen.

Annabeth stopped short, and suddenly she felt very lightheaded. She stared at the two sharing the very intimate moment: the boy was running his hands through the girl's hair as they attacked each other's lips. The girl, on the other hand, clutched the boy's neck as if hanging on it for dear life. They spun around, pressing against the counter, nearly knocking over the punch bowl. Annabeth felt repulsed as she stared at them.

"Wow…," the boy mumbled. "That was…."

"Wrong?" The girl finished the sentence for him.

The boy nodded in agreement. "Very wrong."

Annabeth suppressed a gasp as she stared, wide-eyed at the couple. She held onto the side of Rachel's wall for dear life, clutching her stomach as if she was going to hurl. Annabeth felt as if she was going to her. She felt sick, dizzy and, most importantly, betrayed.

Because that couple was Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

And Percy Jackson.

**DUN DUN DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

**No Percy, how could you do that to Annabeth?!**

**Anyway, you better REVIEW! That was a long fricking chapter (and hopefully it made up for the infrequent updates), but seriously, REVIEW! This chapter _deserves _some reviews!**

**BTW, sorry for the somewhat lame grammar/editing. I just wanted to post something and I know that there a lot of parts that felt underdeveloped, like Rachel and Percy's friendship but I promise that in future chapters I really flesh out their relationship much more.**

**Anyway, REVIEW!**

**Let's shoot for 20-25 reviews…maybe more :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**SCHOOL'S OUT! SCREAM AND SHOUT!**

**I am officially done with school for the year, and I'm surprisingly kind of sad. I'm changing schools this year and I don't want to say goodbye to my favorite teachers. Oh well. **

**And just to let you know summer does mean MORE UPDATING!**

**And seriously guys, FORTY REVIEWS FOR LAST CHAPTER?! That's crazy! Thank you so much to all the people that reviewed :)**

**So, I'm really going to focus on updating this story and GHSIY (although I'm still going to update my other stories). And once I'm finished with this story, I'm probably going to start a new one since I have a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good idea for a new but I'm waiting to finish this one :)**

**Now, let's get on with the story :)**

Previously on NKGHS:

"Wow…," the boy mumbled. "That was…."

"Wrong?" The girl finished the sentence for him.

The boy nodded in agreement. "Very wrong."

Annabeth suppressed a gasp as she stared, wide-eyed at the couple. She held onto the side of Rachel's wall for dear life, clutching her stomach as if she was going to hurl. Annabeth felt as if she was going to her. She felt sick, dizzy and, most importantly, betrayed.

Because that couple was Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

And Percy Jackson.

_Chapter 22_

Annabeth clutched her, feeling as if she would throw up on the spot. She blinked a couple of times, hoping that she just had bad vision, hoping that it would just be another guy that Rachel was hooking up with.

But no. It was very clearly Percy, very clearly the person that Annabeth was in love and who she was _thought _was in love with her.

Percy fixed his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair, nervously. He wiped his lips as if it was infected with germs. Rachel began to drum her fingers against the counter, refusing to look at Percy. "What are we going to do?" Rachel suddenly shouted. "We can't just ignore something like this."

Percy sighed, "We have to. It's going to kill Annabeth if she ever sees this, and she's been through enough."

"Can you imagine what Annabeth is going to do to me if she finds out about this?" Rachel mumbled. "I just gained her friendship against and this is going to make everything worse than before! But, I don't ignoring this is going to do us any good. We tried to ignore what happened on Wednesday, and do you see what happened? We kept all our emotions and let it out like this!"

"I can't tell her this…," Percy mumbled.

Rachel groaned. "Perce, either you tell her now or she finds out later. And, trust me, she would rather know now than have someone like Luke tell her."

"But it's going to destroy our relationship. She's everything to me."

Annabeth, angered by that comment, stepped out from the shadows. She cleared her throat, and Percy and Rachel turned to look at her. Their eyes widened with fear and sent each other panicked looks. "If I was everything to you Percy, this would never have happened!"

"Annabeth…," Percy gasped.

"W-we don't know what you're talking about," Rachel said, quickly. Liar.

"Oh please!" Annabeth shouted, anger boiling in her body, fueling her, coursing through her veins. "Rachel, you are incredible, you know that right? I mean, you're _amazing_. You were the worst friend humanly possible to me, then you tried to bully out of the school district, you play me into believing that you've truly and genuinely changed and then, finally, you steal the one thing that I cared about most." Annabeth's voice cracked, and tears welled in her eyes. Rachel stepped forward to comfort her, but Annabeth held her hand out. "Don't come anywhere _near_ me! I can't believe you would ever be that cruel!"

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, "Annabeth-."

Annabeth held up her hand in disgust. "No! I don't want to hear it! I trusted you. I gave you a second chance and you turn around and stab me in the back!"

"It isn't what you think!" Rachel argued, tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh shut up! If you ever, _ever _think about getting anywhere near me, or any of my other friends for that matter, I will put an end to your life! I couldn't stand you before but now, now I hate you. I wish you were dead!" Annabeth yelled words faster than she could comprehend the meaning of them. What she had said was harsh, she had to admit that, but Annabeth was being truthful. "You're better off dead, then be anywhere near me." She was whispering now as if the painful truth of Percy's unfaithfulness had finally hit her.

"Annabeth, please," Rachel muttered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Shut up! And you," Annabeth turned to Percy, anger now boiling through her more prominent than ever, "Words don't even _begin _to explain how angry I am at you! How can you live with yourself?! Don't you care about me?!"

Percy, who was still stunned by Annabeth's arrival, snapped out of it. "Annabeth, please, I never wanted to hurt it. We-I…I don't know what happened. It was impulsive."

"It's _repulsive_! Does everything we've done together mean absolutely nothing to you? You literally saved my life! I told you everything! Every secret, every thought…and this is what you do. I can't believe you!" Annabeth choked on a sob and stared at Percy, her hatred toward him growing.

"Annabeth…," Percy whispered, painfully staring at the tears rolling down her cheek. He tried to grab her hand to comfort her, but she pulled away, tears practically clouding her vision. "What can I do to make you trust me again?"

"Tell me it's a lie," Annabeth forced out through clenched teeth. "Tell me that Rachel forced herself on you and that you hated kissing her."

It would have been a nice way to the end the argument: for Percy to confidently say that it was a horrible, disgusting act that Rachel forced him to do. Then, they would leave the party hand in hand, leaving Rachel dumbstruck. Their relationship would carry on through high school, maybe even further, their friendship and happiness growing with every second. The fantasy was beautiful. It was a fantasy that Annabeth so greatly wanted.

But the fantasy was shattered by Percy's reaction.

Percy hesitated, looking back between Rachel and Annabeth, debating whether to go against his values and lie in order to save his relationship, or to be honest and accept the consequences that he deserves. The silence, however, was enough for Annabeth to understand what Percy was thinking of. His truthfulness was much more prominent than his loyalty or faithfulness. In Annabeth's mind, Percy's silence signified where his loyalty lied: in the hands of Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Well, nice to know you care about more," Annabeth whispered. She gave Percy one last look before turning on her heels and running, making her way out of Rachel's hallway.

"Annabeth wait!" Percy called after her, chasing at her at feel speed. He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and forced her to look at him. "Please, listen to me. What happened back there means nothing to me. She means nothing to me. It's not the same with you."

Annabeth laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, is she slutting it up a little bit more than me?"

"Annabeth-."

"You know what, save it, Percy! I've seen this happen before. I've seen how it ends for the two us if we get back together and it isn't pretty. Let's just not put each other through that kind of physical pain."

"Annabeth, please. Let's just talk-." Percy tried rationalizing it, but I refused to listen.

"Percy, we're not talking anymore. We're over!"

Annabeth ran out, tears streaming in an uncontrollable fashion down her face. She could feel the penetrating eyes of onlookers stare at her as she raced through Rachel's kitchen. In the background, Annabeth could hear Percy and Rachel call after her, as if she would stop. How could Percy do something like that to her? Wasn't he Mr. Reliable? Did he not care for her at all? Was she absolutely nothing to him? Did everything that they go through mean anything to him? And Rachel… To think that Annabeth actually thought Rachel had changed…

She let out a loud sob as she slammed open the doors leading to Rachel's backyard, knocking the high quality stereo that Rachel had purchased. The music shook, earning Annabeth the attention of literally every student that had came to Rachel's party, including Luke, who was the one. He mumbled something and hang up, staring at Annabeth with shock as he watched more tears pour down her face. Luke, who seemed to almost immediately understand what happened, rushed to his friend's side and pull her away from the practically unfriendly gazes of her peers. He tore Annabeth outside and toward his car, pulling her into a bear again.

She stood there for a couple of moments, letting out all the emotion that she was holding in when she was talking to Percy and Rachel. Sobs racked her body, and sent her crumbling against Luke, who held onto her fervently. He brushed her hair out of her eyes and stared at her in horror.

"What happened?" He whispered in her ear, shielding Annabeth with another hug, protecting her from onlookers.

"P-Percy and Rachel…" The names came out in moans, each one filling Annabeth with a horrible, twisted feeling in her gut. She looked up at Luke into his blue eyes. "Is this what heartbreak feels like?"

Luke, who immediately grasped what happened, pulled Annabeth into an even tighter hug. "Something like this…," he whispered, soft enough so that even Annabeth could hardly hear it over her sobs.

Luke, still holding his arms around his friend, carefully led her to his car. Once inside, Luke buckled up Annabeth and kissed his forehead. He tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, before making his way to the driver seat. It was a silent, horrible drive that was consumed with the sound of sniffles and stifled cries. Luke clenched the driver's wheel, mumbling curse words under his mouth. He touched Annabeth's hand and gave her a comforting squeeze, although nothing would make her feel better at the moment.

"I'll drop you off at Thalia's," Luke whispered.

"I don't want to see anyone right now," Annabeth muttered, her voice hoarse from all the crying. "I just want to hide in my bedroom and never come out."

Luke sighed. "Don't let Percy control your life. You're better than him. And Rachel. _Especially _Rachel. Don't ever let her think that she won."

"But she did win. She has Percy."

"Percy means absolutely nothing," Luke argued. "He's stupid and doesn't deserve you."

"But I love him Luke. You know I do," Annabeth mumbled. "I can't think, I can't eat, I can't do anything knowing about this and knowing that I didn't do anything about."

Luke sighed, and rubbed Annabeth's hand soothingly again. "Don't worry about, Annie. I'll take care of this. Let's just get off you to Thal's."

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned, "Thalia. Just another mess that Rachel caused!"

"Annabeth, you know that Thalia will forgive you, especially after she finds out that Rachel did this to you," Luke said. He parallel parked and helped Annabeth out, guiding her to Thalia's door. "I'll tell them about what happened. Let's just get you inside."

Luke still kept his arm around Annabeth, still able to feel her shaking with emotion in his arms. He knocked on Thalia's door several times, waiting impatiently. A few seconds afterwards, it was opened by Thalia, Silena and Katie. There was loud music playing in the background and Annabeth could hear laughing and talking in the distance. Thalia, Silena and Katie all wore broad smiles but when they saw Annabeth and Luke and the state in which Annabeth was in, their smiles faded and they very quickly realized what happened, just by the absence of Annabeth's other half, Percy. They stood for a moment, staring at their tearful friend, before the three girls pulled Annabeth into a group hug and led her inside of Thalia's house. Luke and Thalia trailed behind, Luke quickly explaining the situation.

"Why did they break up?" Thalia whispered.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that something pretty bad happened."

Annabeth tried to drown out their conversation in the background. She was being brought into Thalia's kitchen, which was occupied by several of Anabeth's friends. Music was blaring in the background and food and drinks were strewn across the table in a disorderly matter. On the counter was bowls of chips, fruits, vegetables and dip and a large plate of cooked hamburgers. Grover, Juniper, Travis and Connor, who were in Thalia's kitchen talking and eating, looked over, their smiles fading. Juniper turned off the music as the four took Annabeth's state. A few seconds later, footsteps from Thalia's basement were heard and up walked Nico, Chris, Clarisse and Jason, Thalia's little brother, and his two friends.

"What happened to the music?" Jason asked as led the other five up the stairs. His voice faded off, as he stared at Annabeth. "Oh." At that moment, Luke and Thalia stepped inside the room and looked around. "What's going on?"

"Where's Percy?" Nico asked.

Annabeth shivered at the sound of his name. "Uh, Percy's busy right now."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Doing what?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Rachel!" Her friends all gave her the same confused, shocked expression. "Percy and I broke up because I caught him kissing Rachel. That's why he's not with us right now."

"Wait, that's why you broke up?" Luke chimed in.

Annabeth stared into her best friend's eyes and nodded.

Luke growled, "Of course Rachel has to do that to you." Luke grabbed his keys and made his way to Thalia's door.

"Luke, where are you going?" Annabeth called after him.

Luke turned to her and smiled. "I'll be back."

Annabeth tore away from Katie and Silena. "Luke! Luke! This is my mess. Not yours!" Annabeth called after Luke a couple of times, but she was still too late. He was already in his car, zipping away.

* * *

Luke, anger boiling through his veins, poisoning his blood, stormed into Rachel's kitchen, nearly pushing at least five people out of the way, making his way to Rachel's kitchen. When he arrived, he found Percy and Rachel near each other, whispering in hushed tones, Rachel with tears in her eyes and Percy looking sick to his stomach. When Luke arrived they looked at him fearfully, as if Luke was some serial killer that had been taunting them for weeks. Luke stared at Percy and looked back at Rachel, who was cowering behind Percy in fear.

"Percy," Luke growled, making his way to Percy. He tore Rachel, who was holding onto Percy's arm, away from him and then swung with all of his force at Percy's nose.

There was a loud crack and Rachel let out a shriek. Percy clutched his nose, groaning in pain, a small trail of blood flowing down his lip and dripping on his shirt. "Luke, what the hell? Did you just break my nose?" Percy shouted. Percy took a towel off of Rachel's counter and pressed it against his nose.

"Serves you right! What the hell is your problem?" Luke spat. "Do you know what you did to her?"

"Luke, if I could take it back I would," Percy defended.

"But you can't! You can't take back all that pain! You can't undo something like that. She's never going to forgive you!" Luke shouted.

"I-I know…," Percy whispered. "Help me, Luke. I love her and want her take me back."

Luke stared at Percy with complete shock and began to laugh. He began laughing so hard as Percy had told the funniest joke in the world. "Y-you think I'm going to help you get Annabeth back? Are you crazy? Do you think I'm ever going to put Annabeth through that kind of pain?"

"Luke, you know I would never do anything to hurt her, right?" Percy pleaded. "It was a mistake, an honest, stupid mistake!"

"I don't care if it was a mistake!" Luke shouted. "I'm not here to help you win back the girl that you cheated on."

"Then why are you here?" Rachel intervened, taking a step closer to Percy, and taking his hand, "Because clearly you aren't wanted here."

Luke stared at Rachel's hand, to Percy and then back to Rachel. Luke rolled his eyes, laughing maliciously, "I'm here to warn you. Look, I don't care if you two go out and do whatever sick things you want, but I'll start caring if you even _think _about hurting Annabeth. If you go ANYWHERE near her, you'll be leaving with a little bit more than a broken nose. And you," Luke turned to Rachel, who was still tending to Percy's nose, "If you ever try to even talk to Annabeth, you'll wish you didn't even know her."

"You don't scare me," Rachel snapped, although her voice seemed a little shaky.

Luke smirked and took a step closer to Rachel. "How about I show you how scary I can be?" He looked at Percy, who was holding his nose in pure, agonizing pain, and then back to Rachel. "Tell me, how expensive are nose jobs? Because you're going to need another one when I'm through with you."

"Luke!" Percy interjected, stepping between Rachel and Luke, who both looked as if they were going for the kill. "We promise we won't mess with Annabeth. Just get out of here."

Luke smirked, "You better be telling the truth. Because if I ever see you near her, I'll kill you."

**DUN, DUN, DUHHHHHHH!**

**So, I hope you like it :)**

**Sorry this is a somewhat poorly edited entry :(**

**Review! Maybe 15?**

**BTW does anyone know any good Percabeth, adventure-like stories? Or Thuke stories? Tell me in a comment!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Guys, O...M...G, CAN WE PLEASE GET THIS STORY TO 400 REVIEWS?!**

**If we do, honestly I will have a flipping heart attack! And for that 400th reviewer, they will get not only a preview of the next chapter BUT AN EXTRA FRICKING SPECIAL SURPRISE! You have three options:**

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**Wow, three fricking awesome options.**

**So, seriously, let's get 400!**

**Please? For me? :)**

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**So guys, what do you say? Get it to 400? It's 26 reviews, but you guys can do it!**

**Vote on my poll, please!**

**Now how about I shut up and let you guys read?**

_Chapter 23_

"Luke, I can't believe you did that!" Thalia scolded. She was cleaning up her house after the party (which had ended quite badly, given the circumstances) and now, it was even worse. She couldn't believe that Luke, the most kindhearted, fantastic kid ever, BEAT UP Percy Jackson. Thalia had to admit that she wanted to beat Percy up to, but Luke might have given up a broken nose. "How do you think his mom is going to react? How do you think you're father is going to react? How do you think _Annabeth_ is going to react?!"

Luke shrugged. He picked up a couple paper plates and cups and threw them into the garbage. "First of all, my dad wouldn't care. Second of all, I'll just tell Percy's mom what he did to Annabeth. And speaking of Annabeth, she'll be _overjoyed_ to find out that I gave Percy what he deserves."

"I don't think overjoyed is the right word. Shocked? Depressed? Moody? Perhaps. But overjoyed? No."

Luke grabbed Thalia's hands, forcing her to set down the plates onto her counter. He looked in Thalia's eyes and smiled. "I did what I had to be done. I know that it seemed _irrational _at the moment, but I had to do it. I didn't want Annabeth to get hurt again, especially not by Rachel. You can understand that, right? Look, Annabeth's like a sister to me. I'm sure Malcolm would do the same thing."

Thalia smiled. "It doesn't make what you did right, but I guess I can understand your motivations."

Luke smiled. He leaned in, now whispering in Thalia's ears, "I knew you would." The two kissed and it felt like all their problems had just melted away. "I love you Thals."

* * *

The beginning of spring break was going awful for Annabeth. First of all, her boyfriend cheated on her with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. And second of all, she ruined Thalia's spring break party with her boyfriend problems. Most people left after Annabeth's emotional outbreak when she finished explaining Percy's betrayal. She felt embarrassed at her vulnerability. She was known for never showing emotion, for staying strong.

But at the moment, it was like nothing else in the world could keep her from crying. The only person that seemed to keep her strong lately was Percy.

And where was he now?

Oh right, in Rachel's arms.

The car ride home wasn't the great either. She was happy that it was with Katie, who was someone that she could actually trust (although she would have preferred it to be Luke. Unfortunately, he was still a little MIA after leaving Thalia's spring break party very suddenly). Katie, who was probably the most by Annabeth choosing Rachel, seemed to very easily accept Annabeth's friendship. All the way to Annabeth's apartment, Katie tried to comfort her best friend, although it was awkward since Travis and Connor were both in the back.

They weren't exactly the most emotionally connected to Annabeth and they struggled to say anything that might help her. In fact, whenever they tried to crack a joke, it only seemed to make it worse. She was glad to be out of the car and in her apartment.

She waited outside for a couple moments, just to soak in the fresh air, just to clear her mind before she faced Athena and Malcolm, who could possibly be even angrier than Katie or Thalia or Luke. She gave herself a few moments to calm down, to wipe the tears away, to readjust her clothes. She felt stupid in her outfit. Her clothes were mocking her, saying, 'Rachel wears it better. Rachel wears it better!'

Annabeth sighed, fumbling to find her key, before making her way upstairs. She paused outside the doorway, thinking about different excuses she could use to explain the horrible emotional state in which she was in. Perhaps she could say that Luke got into a fight? Or she and Rachel started fighting? Or she and Percy started fighting? Saying that is technically telling the truth.

She just didn't have to say that she ended it because Percy cheated on Annabeth with Rachel.

Annabeth took a deep breathe and unlocked the door. She expected to see her mother eating at the kitchen table, the lights on, as she poured over the day's newspaper that she didn't have the time to read in the morning. However, there were no lights on, just the light coming from the TV with Malcolm sitting there on the couch, an empty plate on the coffee table in front of him.

He looked up and smiled, "Hey Annie! How was the party?" Immediately, though, his smile faded and he stared at her. He saw the streaks of mascara and her puffy, red eyes. "W-what's wrong? What happened?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Nothing happened."

Malcolm scoffed. He turned off the TV. "Like hell. What happened?"

Annabeth tried to smile, but the emotions were too overwhelming for her. She let out a muffled sob, her legs suddenly becoming very unstable and tears welled in her eyes. Malcolm was next to her in a flash. He cradled her in his arms and helped her to the couch, flipping the light on. He held her for a couple of seconds, whispering comforting words in her ears.

"Tell me what happened," Malcolm whispered, wiping a couple of tears away from her eyes. "Only if your ready."

Annabeth nodded. "I-I'm so stupid," she muttered, though stifled sobs. "How could I let someone do that to me? How could I not see the signs? I'm supposed to be smart, aren't I? I'm the intelligent one! Why didn't I see this coming?"

"See what coming?"

"A fight..."

Malcolm tensed up, the protective side of him peaking through. "A fight? Between who? You and Luke? Or you and Rachel?"

Annabeth shook her head, "I would never fight with Luke. He...just, he's not that kind of person. And Rachel, well, of course she's involved if I'm...if I'm like this." Annabeth fought back a wave of tears, but it still shook her with a violent sob. Malcolm seemed to deliberately and involuntarily pull Annabeth into yet another tight hug, as if it would make all her problems go away.

"What happened between you and Rachel?"

Annabeth chuckled, humorlessly, "Let's not forget Percy?" Annabeth clutched her stomach, as if it hurt to say his name. She didn't want to let Percy have this kind of power over her, but she knew that it was no use trying to fight it. She loved Percy. She trusted Percy, and, honestly, wouldn't anyone be just as upset as her if they found out that the person they love did something as awful as cheat on them?

Malcolm's eyebrows knit together. "Percy?" He knew Percy, and Malcolm knew and understood how much Percy loved Annabeth, so it was a clear surprise to hear Annabeth say that. "What are you talking about? What did Percy do?"

Annabeth buried her face into Malcolm's shoulders. She felt him rub her back in calm, soothing circles. She pulled away form her older brother and stared into his grey eyes, one of the many traits that they had in common. "He and Rachel...," Annabeth trailed off. Stringing that combination of words together in a sentence was just to painful for Annabeth. Besides, she didn't need to tell Malcolm. He was smart enough to figure out what Percy had done to her.

Suddenly the part of Malcolm that hardly ever came out surfaced. He was angry...like _violent_ angry. She never say him like this and she hated seeing him this angry, but she didn't seem to object the emotion. She was angrier than Malcolm was, but also in much more pain.

Malcolm stood up, clearly too angry to sit. "How could he do something like that?! I thought he loved you!" Malcolm ranted, his voice loud enough to wake their neighbors, but Annabeth didn't even bother to calm him down. It would be completely pointless. "And Rachel? After everything you two have been through? She just betrayed you...and Percy, too."

Annabeth shrugged, sniffling. "I was stupid to ever trust Rachel."

Malcolm looked over at Annabeth and sighed. He sat down next to her. "_You _are not stupid. Trusting people isn't a stupid thing to do. You gave Rachel a second chance. You thought she moved on. It isn't you fault that she couldn't."

Annabeth shrugged. "I should have listened to my friends. Rachel was no good. I guess I just wanted to believe that there was still some good in her." Annabeth, at the moment, seemed past the crying and past the regret. In fact, she just felt drained of energy. She felt as if nothing in the world was going to make up for her loss. Crying seemed to take too much energy. In fact, she was just downright depressed.

Malcolm pulled his younger sister into a side hug. "You're better without Percy, you know that, right?"

Annabeth shook her head. "But I'm not. He was everything to me. He was my better half... Without him, I have nothing. Nothing but a broken heart."

"A broken heart doesn't last forever," Malcolm whispered. "Take it from someone who lost more than one girlfriend: it may hurt at first, but if they make a boneheaded mistake like this one, your better off alone."

Annabeth wanted to say something back, to say that she would never be the same without Percy, but she decided against it. She was just too _drained _to argue with Malcolm right now. "I just want to go to bed. I want to forget that this ever happened. I want to forget about Percy and I want to stop hurting."

Malcolm smiled. "That's the spirit. Go on. I'll be out here if you need me."

Annabeth chuckled, "I'm a junior, Malcolm. I don't think I need my older brother's help. But thanks...thanks for being there."

Malcolm shrugged. "Hey, we're family, kiddo. That's what I'm here for."

Annabeth smiled, before turning away and making her way to her bedroom.

* * *

When Annabeth woke the next morning, she was in tears. She had the worst dream imaginable. She would have preferred to see Rachel and Percy make out again, than have to see this dream.

It was around midnight, and Percy and Annabeth were at the beach. The sand was chilly, but the air was warm, which caused Annabeth to feel comfortable as she strolled barefoot on the sand, edging closer to the small tide of waves crashing against the beach. Percy was just a couple steps behind her, watching his girlfriend as she enjoyed the nighttime visit to one of Percy's most favorite places. Annabeth was wearing a long, ankle-reaching white dress and a golden necklace, her curly hair framing her face, making her look like a princess. Percy stared at her in awe as she stopped, turning and gesturing for him to hurry.

He smiled, and took quick steps to her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tight, as if letting go would kill him.

He planted a gentle kiss on her lips, tucking a strand of perfectly curly blonde hair. He kissed her cheek repeatedly, picking her up bridal style, still kissing her, and walking a few steps closer to beach. He stopped, moving his lips to hers and they finished their passionate moment with a timeless kiss. He released her and set her down, but they never looked away from each other.

The moonlight shimmered off of the waves, sparkling off of Annabeth's eyes. She looked more beautiful than usual, Percy observed. He kissed her again. "I love you, Wise Girl," Percy whispered in her ear.

Just the thought of any happy moment with Percy made Annabeth's eyes water. She dreaded seeing them happy in a dream. After all, dreams are basically fantasies that people wish would come true, although most of the time their completely and unbelievably impossible to achieve. She hated thinking it, but she knew that it would be an impossible wish.

It would never come true.

Any happy moment with Percy had vanished the second that she caught him and Rachel making out together.

For now, she would be alone...and she would be okay with that.

* * *

On the last day of spring break, Katie, Silena and Thalia decided to cheer Annabeth up with a girls' night out. They picked her up around 5:00 and decided that the best medication for fixing Annabeth up would be to head over to Thalia's, play dress up with each other, maybe cook about fifteen pounds of cookies and listen to nearly every 'I'm better off alone' song out there on repeat. The night wasn't exactly what Annabeth thought would be the best for her at the moment, but she figured that she should at least _try _to think about her social life...not just dwell on Percy, Percy and Percy.

Katie and Silena picked her up, duffel bags in the back, along with another backpack that literally had all the makeup and hair products in the world. Silena and Katie sat in the front, jamming out to 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift. Swift wasn't exactly Annabeth's favorite artist, but at the moment, the title of Taylor's hottest single in the album Red, was definitely something to praise.

She was never getting back together with Percy. It wasn't worth the pain, or the struggles. It wasn't worth having to deal with Rachel all over again.

Being without Percy could be good for Annabeth. It could mean having some time for herself.

When the song changed into a more romantic setting, Katie and Silena quickly turned the radio off, in fear that it would throw Annabeth into a comatose state. However, the conversation seemed to reflect the same lovey-dovey feeling as Katie and Silena began to go on and on about their fantastic relationships and how everything seemed to working out for them.

"Beck already picked out some houses," Silena said with a smile. According to her, she and Beckendorf, who had been her boyfriend for practically forever, were going to move in together near a mechanic store where Beckendorf would work and modeling agency, where Silena would work. They had their whole lives planned out together, and Annabeth suddenly felt extremely jealous. Obviously Silena didn't suspect that Beckendorf would do _anything_ that would hurt her.

As for Katie and Travis, their relationship was a little different.

"Can you believe that he did that?!" Katie shouted, after explaining the latest prank that Travis pulled on her. Apparently he glued all of the paper in Katie's diary together, which made her more than just angry considering that it was her _diary_.

"And yet you're still dating him?" Annabeth mumbled, sarcastically.

Katie chuckled, "Well, of course, silly. I love him."

By the time that Annabeth arrived at Thalia's house, she was sick of romance. She was tired of listening to Katie and Silena, and now Thalia, go on and on about how fantastic their relationship was. She wished she could turn to someone who was completely single, even if it meant Connor, who had no one. She couldn't even talk to Jason, who's _in love _and kind of obsessed with Piper.

When they arrived at Thalia's house, their friend was already waiting outside. She greeted each other them with quick hugs, saving Annabeth for last. "I'm glad you could make it," Thalia said, smiling, as she gave Annabeth a much longer hug. "How was the car ride over?"

"Sickening," Annabeth mumbled, letting herself inside.

Thalia glowered toward Katie and Silena, who both looked at the ground, sheepishly. "We kept the romantic talk to a minimum," Silena argued.

"Oh, it's fine," Annabeth said, putting on her most convincing smile. "Let's just break out the makeup and music."

Silena laughed, throwing her arm around her blonde friend. "That's the spirit."

The four girls, all hauling their duffel bags and makeup, made their way to Thalia's room, which was clean and spotless as usual. As expected, Thalia's room didn't change much: the bed was still in the corner next to the window, there were tons of photos her and her friends (but mostly her and Luke) plastered around the room, a small cabinet stood next the door with the stereo blaring music and finally, her makeup/hair station, which seemed more organized than usual. Thalia dumped the bag of beauty products on the cabinet and turned to her four best friends, grinning.

"So, who has the music?"

Silena grinned. "Of course, I do." She went to Thalia's stereo and put her iPhone in. It was silent for a moment, but then _I Am Woman _by Jordin Sparks begin to play. Silena laughed, "Don't you guys just love this song?"

Katie, Annabeth and Thalia chuckled as they began their usual sleepover/party routine:

Silena unzipped her beauty bag and literally dumped out all the contents onto the floor. It ranged from foundation, to eye shadow pallets, to curlers and to hairsprays. Thalia also did the same: emptying the contents of her makeup and hair cabinet onto the counter top. Meanwhile, Katie and Annabeth watched on the bed. Annabeth used to love getting makeovers done, but at the moment, she didn't really feel like looking glamorous. She didn't feel like dressing up and trying to make herself look stunning when she felt the exact opposite of fabulous and beautiful.

"Who's first?" Thalia said, holding up a hair brush and large container of skin moisturizer.

Annabeth immediately looked to Katie, and she sighed, standing up. "Fine. Fine. Fine."

Silena laughed and pulled Katie over to Thalia's makeup table. Annabeth leaned against the window as she watched Silena apply moisturizer onto Katie's face and Thalia ran a comb through Katie's brown hair.

"I don't understand why people spend so much time on hair and makeup," Annabeth said, sighing. "We don't really need it."

Silena sent Annabeth a nasty look. "Easy for you to say, Miss I-Have-Perfect-Skin-And-Don't-Need-Any-Makeup."

"Yeah," Thalia chimed in. "And not everyone is as lucky to have princess curls like you."

Annabeth blushed. "I was just saying..."

Silena interrupted her with a giggle. "We're just messing with you, Annie. Take a deep breath."

Annabeth snorted, sitting down on Thalia's bed again. "I haven't gotten the chance to take a deep breath since...," she faltered, and immediately earned the stares of her three friends. It was the first time in a while that Annabeth had even _brought _up Percy in front of people. Suddenly, she felt very weak again.

"Um, I think I'm going to change the music." Silena set down the liquid foundation that she was using on Katie and changed the song to _Better than Revenge_.

As Annabeth listened to the song, she fell more and more in love with it. It was the perfect depiction of what happened. Rachel stole Percy and this was exactly how Annabeth was feeling. She knew she could destroy Rachel, and Annabeth's done it before, but could she destroy Percy? Annabeth wasn't too eager about that idea. Having to hurt Rachel over this was one thing, but Percy was a completely different story.

"I like this song," Annabeth thought, aloud.

Silena smiled at her friend as she applied setting powder to Katie's face. "Good. I picked this song just for you."

Annabeth smirked and stepped closer to Katie, assisting Thalia by holding or pinning up strands of hair that were in her way. "You know, you three are lucky. At least you guys have someone to look pretty for."

Thalia sighed, "You know, Annabeth, any guy that would get you would be lucky. In fact, if you are lonely, I'm sure Nico would be happy to have you."

Annabeth glared at Thalia and sarcastically laughed, "Yeah, thanks."

"Besides, I know guys," Silena started, "And if Percy is stupid enough to leave you for Rachel, he definitely downgraded...by a lot."

"Yeah," Katie agreed, although she struggled to focus on talking as Thalia curled her hair and Silena applied makeup to Katie's eyes. "First of all, your hair is _much_ more attractive. The curls aren't so crazy, plus your blonde, so it's like a win and win. And your smarter and thinner and more stylish."

"Yeah, Percy's a total moron to leave you for that bitch," Thalia added.

"That's why I call Seaweed Brain...," Annabeth mumbled. "Besides, Percy technically didn't leave me for Rachel. Their not together."

Thalia froze and turned to look at Annabeth. "Um, you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Percy and Rachel are dating," Thalia muttered. "Nico told us. Rachel convinced Percy to go out with her."

Annabeth sighed. She wanted to cry, but at the same time was tired of looking and feeling weak because of Percy. She shrugged, trying to pass of nonchalance. "So, Percy moved on? Well, so will I." Her friends smiled at her, but they could see through Annabeth and knew that she was hurting.

"Um, Silena can I get some hairspray? It's that drawer," Thalia said, just to change the subject.

Silena nodded and opened it up, shaking the bottle. "I think it's all out, and I didn't bring any."

Thalia sighed. "There's a spare can in my bathroom."

"I'll get it!" Annabeth said, very eager to leave the room.

She knew exactly where the bathroom was and she so didn't have a hard time finding it. She looked through a couple of cabinets and found a Redken hairspray. Setting it on the counter, she took a deep breath, trying to recollect her thoughts and pull herself together. Annabeth, however, did the opposite. She found herself tearing up, a few tears leaking down her cheek. She laughed at her emotional state and wiped a couple away, only for more tears to replace them. Annabeth groaned, wishing that she could go one day without crying over Percy.

"Annabeth?" Came a boy's voice, "Are you okay?"

Annabeth groaned and looked up to see Jason, wearing a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. He stared at her, with his eyebrows raised. Annabeth straightened herself up, wiping away a couple of tears. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll leave."

"Y-you don't have to," Jason said, smiling. He leaned against the bathroom sink. "Look, if I were you, I wouldn't want to go back there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You guys aren't that quiet and these walls aren't that thick," Jason pointed. Annabeth blushed, looking down at her feet. "But, if you want, you can head back."

Annabeth sighed and leaned against the counter by Jason. "So where's Piper? Don't you guys have plans?"

Jason shrugged. "She's busy."

"Too busy to spend time with...oh," Annabeth very quickly understood Jason. She knew there was a reason that Jason was being surprisingly talkative. Usually, he just stays his room when Thalia's friends are over. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"Girls are confusing...no offense."

Annabeth chuckled, "And guys are cheating jerks...no offense. Relationships suck."

Jason laughed, and Annabeth even cracked a genuine smile. "You know, considering that your one of Thalia's friends, you're actually pretty cool."

"Why, thanks! And considering that your Thalia's little brother, you actually not as annoying as she said you were." Jason and Annabeth smiled at each other, and for once, Annabeth felt okay. "W-well I should probably get back."

Jason grinned, holding the door open, "And I should probably go call Pipes. And Annabeth?"

Annabeth turned to look at him. "Yeah."

"My sister is right about one thing: you better than him."

Annabeth sighed, "That's what a lot of people are saying."

**Whoa, what a chapter!**

**You got some Thuke moments, you got some sibling Malcolm/Annabeth moment and hey, there was even Jason in there**

**Plus, it was pretty long!**

**What will happen to Percy and Annabeth?**

**Will they make up, or will Rachel win in the long run?**

**Okay, I have to admit that this wasn't my best written chapter, but I felt like I really jammed it with a lot of conflict and plot twists, so hopefully you guys like it...**

**So next chapter, it's going to be a lot more Percy-centric and you'll finally get to see a lot more of Nico and Grover.**

**Remember guys, REVIEW! Do _YOU _want to be the 400th reviewer?! I know I would want to be.**

**~Juicyfruity39**


	24. Chapter 24

**Seriously, you guys are the most fantastic readers EVER. We got to 400 reviews and more in literally ONE DAY. You guys have stuck with this story, despite my occasional lack of updates, or my poor editing. Seriously, I couldn't thank you guys enough! You are the most fantastic readers in the world and I am so thankful for your support! Now, let's not get too cheesy or anything but I love each and everyone one of you who reviewed, favorited and followed! **

**Well, after this chapter, we only nine chapters left of my first story. Nine more chapters to fix this horrible Prachel relationship. ****Honestly, I couldn't have gotten this far without the most fantastic readers ever.**

**And now for the prize winner. Congratulations IloveJamesSiriusPotter on winning! They decided that I will write the oneshot about Jason and Thalia catching up on each others lives.**

**Anyway, as I promised, here is the next chapter**

_Chapter 24_

Grover and Nico picked up Percy early the next morning for school. Percy was wearing a casual plaid shirt and pair of khaki shorts, his hair wild and tangly, just the way he liked it. But, he still felt and looked like utter crap. His heart had been ripped to shreds over spring break. He lost his friends and his girlfriend, and it showed in his appearance. Not to mention the bandages on the broken nose that he had recieved from Luke Castellan, who was defending Annabeth.

"Man, your face looks like crap!" Nico said from the backseat.

Percy threw his backpack on the ground, buckling himself up and then turning to Nico to glare at him. "Shut up, Death Breath."

Nico laughed, "At least I don't have a broken nose!"

Percy glared at his best friend. "Really? Because you're about to get one!"

Nico's smile faded. "Shutting up now."

Grover stared at the road as he asked, "How did your mother take finding out about what happened?"

Percy groaned and shuddered at the very horrible memory, "It was honestly the worst, most awful moment in my _entire _life."

* * *

_After Luke had stormed away from Rachel, she immediately rushed Percy over to the hospital after she concluded that his nose didn't 'look right.' Rachel called Mrs. Jackson as she waited for the results from the doctor, and her conclusion had been correct: Percy's nose was broken. Mrs. Jackson arrived about ten minutes after Rachel and Percy had arrived. She found the two of them by the vending machine, looking for something to eat. She immediately pulled Percy over to the corner, away from Rachel._

_"Percy, how did this happen? Did you get into a fight?" Mrs. Jackson asked, glaring at Percy._

_Percy shrugged. "Not really."_

_"Not really? It really doesn't look like, 'not really!' Now, _tell me_, did you get into a fight?"_

_"No. I'm mean, like I said, not really. I didn't throw any punches."_

_"So this guy just jumped you in the middle party and broke your nose?! Was there drinking? Was he drunk? Does Rachel's parents know about this?" Sally blurted out, shouting questions faster than Percy could even think of the answers._

_"No, mom. The guy wasn't drunk."_

_"So he just hit you for the fun of it?! I want his name, Percy!"_

_"Mom, it really isn't that big of deal..."_

_"_His name_," Sally said through clenched teeth, causing Percy to shudder. The only time that his mother is ever this angry is when his stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, is pissing her off. And right, she seemed to be angry. Percy knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to cross her._

_"Luke. Luke Castellan."_

_Mrs. Jackson gasped, "Luke. You're friend, Luke? Why did he do that to you? You know what, I don't care why he did that. Oh, when I'm going to call that kid and give him a piece of my mind, he's going to be sorry he ever _touched _you!" His mother began to ramble, and Percy knew that this would probably be end of Luke's life, and Percy's life as well. "God, I'm going to sue the sh-."_

_"Mom!" Percy shouted. "He had his reasons."_

_Mrs. Jackson froze and looked at Percy, glaring at him. "No one has an excuse to hit someone and break their nose!"_

_"Yeah, well he did." Percy groaned. He leaned against the wall, running his fingers through his hair._

_"Percy, what the hell are you talking about?"  
_

_Percy sighed. "You know Annabeth right?"_

_"You're girlfriend. Yes. She's a sweet girl."_

_"Yeah, well, Luke has known Annabeth for practically her entire life. She's like a younger sister to him and he would do anything to keep her safe or to defend her. And that's why he hit me. He was defending her...," Percy's voice died out near the end. It was still too painful for Percy to even talk about. He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been. How could he ever do that to Annabeth?_

_Mrs. Jackson stared down blankly at her son. "Percy, what did you do to make Luke break your nose?"_

_Percy sighed. "Annabeth c-caught me kissing her...friend...and biggest enemy."_

_"You kissed two other girls?! Percy, how could you?"_

_"Actually, I kissed one girl." Percy pointed to Rachel. "Mom, I'd like you to meet Rachel Elizabeth Dare...my girlfriend."_

* * *

Grover nearly got in a car accident and Nico practically throw up his breakfast in shock. They both spoke simultaneously, "YOU'RE DATING RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE?!

"It's a good thing I told Thalia to be expecting that but...Damn boy, you got game!" Nico complimented.

"No!" Grover argued, "You should be saying, 'Damn boy, you got _no brain_!' You know, Annabeth probably already hated you, but this is going to make her hate you even more!"

Percy sighed, "Yeah, I know. I'm screwed. Man, I feel like I'm trapped in a fricking soap opera."

Grover rolled his eyes, chuckling, "Welcome to Girl World. You're first stop: Bad Breakup Cafe. Would you like your good ol' plate of ass kicking with a side of bitch-your-screwed? Or do you prefer our special: the I-would-watch-your-back-and-sleep-with-one-eye-ope n with a side of extra scary?"

Percy glared at Grover. "I'll live."

Grover and Nico both swatted Percy in the arm, laughing, "No, you won't.

"Trust me," Percy's cousin began, "I know girls, and I'm telling you Annabeth is gonna be more pissed off than Luke. And girls aren't like guys. Guys throw a punch. Girls don't _stop _until they've ruined their enemy." Percy shuddered at the thought, because he knew that Annabeth could very easily destroy his life.

Grover snorted. "Nico, you know girls the least Mr. I've-Never-Had-A-Girlfriend-In-Eleven-Years, but I will admit that Nico is right about this. Girls are malicious."

Percy sighed, "Great. Just Great."

_**(Before School)**_

Annabeth watched in disgust as Percy and Nico stepped out of Grover's truck. Immediately, as if attracted by a magnetic force, Rachel appeared seemingly from thin air and looped her arm around Percy. Percy smiled at his new girlfriend and pecked her on the cheek, earning a grin from Nico and an eye rolling for Grover. Then, Grover seemed to mimic kicking someone and then pointed his finger in Annabeth's general direction. She raised her eyebrows and Percy looked over at his ex, uneasily.

"What happened to his nose?" Annabeth asked with more concern than she wanted. Percy's face was distorted. He had bags under his eyes as if he endured painful, sleepless nights and there was bandages placed on his nose, which made it look particularly larger than usual.

Katie shrugged, "Probably broke it tripping over Rachel's clothes after their one night stand. Or he walked into a wall?"

"I'll go with the second option," Annabeth murmured. "Talk about karma." She turned on her feet, tired of looking at Rachel and Percy. Thalia and Katie trailed behind her as Annabeth made her way inside the school to her first class. "You know, I can't believe that Percy has the nerve to go out with that girl. Does he think that that's going to earn him my forgiveness?"

"Maybe," Thalia interjected, trying to keep up with Annabeth's brisk pace, "Percy is a little _scared _of you, and so he's trying to move on."

"Why is that?"

"You are a little scary when your angry," Thalia pointed out, earning Katie's approval.

Annabeth stopped and turned to her two friends, "I. Am. Not. Or at least, not to Percy."

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Whatever Annabeth. I'm pretty sure, though, that Percy's just a little bit scared to get anywhere near you. He probably doesn't want to leave the next fight with more than just a broken nose."

Annabeth froze. She turned to Thalia. "Percy was a fight?" She said through clenched teeth. "Thalia, what fight was Percy in? Is that how he got the broken nose?"

Thalia's eyes widened, realizing her mistake. "Um..."

Annabeth, however, didn't need much of an explanation. She was smart enough to put the pieces together. "When Luke left your party, he didn't go off to cool his head. He went over to Rachel's place and _broke Percy's nose_."

"Maybe," Annabeth's best friend mumbled.

Annabeth groaned. "Oh my god, Luke."

After she left her friends, she went to find Luke, which was considerable easy since Luke always waits outside of his first class with a couple of his older friends. He saw Annabeth and grinned, but Annabeth didn't seem to return the gesture. She was staring at Luke, a little uneasily. To think that her best friend, who was practically an older brother to her, broke someone's nose. Annabeth didn't know whether to reprimand Luke or thank him.

"Hey Annie," he said with a smile. "What's up?"

"Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Luke raised his eyebrows, his smile dying out a little, "Um, sure." They took several steps away from Luke's friends. "What's going on?"

Annabeth cut right to the chase. "Did you break Percy's nose?"

Luke's smile completely faded, sighing. "Look, Annabeth, I-I only did it because..."

Annabeth cut him off, giving him a huge bear hug that almost caused Luke to fall on the floor. Luke was too stunned to even hug her back. "I know why you did it. And to be honest, I'm happy that you did." She pulled away from him. "But next time, leave the nose breaking to me."

Luke chuckled, "Whatever you say, Annie. Go on. Get to class before your late."

**(At lunch)**

Percy, Nico and Rachel stood in a line, waiting for their friends to walk to them. Percy gripped his lunch bag uneasily, "Are you sure that their going to forgive me? If Luke was that angry, imagine how the rest of them are going to feel."

"Percy, they love you," Nico pointed. "Grover and Juni still talks to you."

Percy sighed, "That's different. I'm better friends with Grover, and Juniper is dating Grover so of course she's talking to me!" Percy then noticed Annabeth, Luke and Thalia, leading the rest of their friends. Percy groaned. "Oh my god, Nico save me!"

"Oh, suck it up!" Nico said, grumbling, pushing Percy toward his friends.

Annabeth stiffened. "I'm gonna go get some water." She, then, quickly ran away, leaving her friends.

"We'll come with you," Katie started, and her other friends agreed.

"Guys, wait! Can you guys please just forgive me? If I take it all back I could," Percy rambled on, but it was fruitless. "If I could go back and undo everything that I did to her, I would do it in a heartbeat. I never wanted to hurt her, and I can't believe I was stupid enough to let that happen."

"Percy's telling the truth," Rachel added. "I never wanted to lose her."

"_You _lost her a while ago," Thalia snapped. She stepped closer to Percy, her fists clenched as if she was about to punch him. "And you," she turned to Percy with a malicious glare. "If you so much as think about trying to talk your way back into her life, you're wrong. I'll never let you hurt Annabeth again. I was stupid to think you were any good for her."

Nico, who was practically the mediator of the group, stepped in between Thalia and Percy. "Guys, give Percy a chance."

"With all due respect, we gave Percy a chance," Katie pointed out. "And this is what he decided to do with it. It's not our fault that this is happening to him."

Nico looked at Percy and shrugged. "Thanks for trying bud," Percy said with a smile. I can always count on you for being there."

"We're family, bro," Nico said, nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" Thalia snapped. "Why are you still here?"

"Thalia, lay off," Grover chimed in. He was chewing on a sandwich and listening on their conversation. "Maybe Percy does deserve a second chance. It isn't his fault that Rachel forced herself on him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rachel interjected, angrily. She looked at Percy, and then back at the others. "You honestly think that _I_ forced myself _on him_? Okay, so the first kiss was me forcing myself on him, but he wanted to kiss me. He kissed _me _back. Percy is not innocent here."

Percy growled, "Rachel shut up."

"No! I-I didn't force myself on him! I'm not that desperate!"

Nico rolled his eyes. He grabbed Rachel's arm, "Okay, let's go find a place to eat. Come on. Let's leave Percy to solve the problem." Rachel kept glaring at Grover as she left, and mumbled something to Nico. Nico looked at Percy and rolled his eyes. He looked as if it was painful to hear Rachel talk.

Percy scowled, turning his attention to his friends, but all had other plans. They were hardly walking away from Percy. The only person was, not surprising, Grover, who had his arm around Juniper.

"Just give it some time, Perce. Soon, Annabeth will move on, just as you did. It'll blow over...eventually."

"Wow, you're so hopeful," Grover argued.

"Man, this sucks," Percy mumbled, sitting down on the table.

"Don't feel down, man," Nico started, "Hey, I overheard Thalia, Luke and Annie planning another karaoke night. You two wanna come?"

"Are you sure that'll be such a good idea?" Rachel asked.

"Of course," Nico said, grinning. "Di Angelo is _never _wrong."

"And if you are, I'm gonna do everything that Luke is gonna do to me," Percy threatened.

Nico gulped, "Trust me on this Jackson."

* * *

Percy and Rachel were holding hand in hand as they walked into the cafe. They seemed to give each other a comforting smile before stepping inside the cafe. It was as if everyone knew that Percy and Rachel were coming because as soon as both their feet hit the floor in the cafe, everyone turned to look at them. Percy watched as he felt the eyes of the people that he used to be friends with stare him. Percy and Rachel very slowly made their way to Nico and Grover who were sitting in a car far away, trying not to look at anyone in particular.

"Are they angry?"

"Well," Grover started, "We told them before just so that they didn't throw a fit, and let's just say that it didn't end well. I'm pretty sure Annabeth was going to through a chair at Nico."

Nico looked up at his cousin, a large red mark on his cheek, near his eyes. "Let's just say that Annabeth has a mean swing."

Percy groaned, "We shouldn't be here."

Rachel grabbed Percy's hands, preventing him from running away. "Look, Percy, we need to stop worrying about Annabeth or about Luke. We have to stop fearing our enemies!"

"First of all, they should not be our enemy. And second of you all, Luke didn't give you a broken nose! And to be completely honest I don't think that whole 'guys don't hit girls' thing is gonna apply this situation."

"Especially since Luke is probably gonna be beating the shit out of Percy and Annabeth is gonna pounce at Rachel like a fricking rabid cat," Nico pointed, grinning.

Percy glared at his cousin, "Thanks for the vivid imagine."

Nico shrugged, "No problem, 'cuz."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I still don't think we should be scared of them. In fact, Luke technically only said that he'll beat you up if we try to hurt Annabeth. But what happens if we're just doing something for ourselves?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure Luke will still kick your ass," Grover promised.

Rachel scowled, "Whatever! Hey DJ, I'll take the mic!"

Percy's eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get me killed?!"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Relax, babe."

She stood up in front of the crowd, and Annabeth's friends shifted their attention toward her, their arms crossed with glares on their faces. Rachel just smirked and song started to play. Annabeth recognized it to be, 'The Perfect Two' by Auburn. She actually liked the song but with Rachel singing it to Percy, she started to really hate it. Annabeth attempted to ignore the music and try to focus on the pattern on her dress, trailing the complicated swirls on it, but it didn't hold her attention considering the fact that the crowd was going insane.

Annabeth had to admit that Rachel had a good voice, but she still refused to believe that her performance was good. It was...disgusting, as if Rachel was trying to flaunt every part of her body in the all the wrong way.

When the song ended, Annabeth was glaring with pure anger, fury and hatred at Rachel and Percy. Rachel was nearly throwing herself at Percy in front of the entire cafe and all of her friends. Most of them shifted uncomfortably in their chair and tried not to look at the public display of affection that was clearly sickening them all. However, the other audience members seemed to be oblivious to the tension between Rachel, Percy and the others, and they went on cheering their hearts out as if it was the only thing in the world that mattered. When Rachel was finished slutting it up in public, Percy helped her off the stage.

"Whoa," the DJ shouted in the microphone behind them, "What a scene? Is there anybody else hear willing to top _that _act?"

Annabeth, who seemed succumbed in the moment, stood up, waving her arms. She glared at Percy and Rachel, "I think I'll give it up," she said through clenched teeth. Her friends, who were all whispering angry words toward each other fell silent, looks of cocky smiles plastered on their faces. Annabeth told the DJ song that was she going to sing and stood on stage, smiling, the microphone in her hand. "I want to give a special dedication to the couple in the front."

Rachel and Percy both seemed too shocked to look angry at Annabeth's purposely embarrassment to them. Rachel's face seemed to be the same color as her hair and she was tugging on her boyfriend's sleeve, but Percy was too busy gaping at Annabeth to pay any attention to Rachel.

The music started blasting in the background and her friend's smirked as they recognized the song. **(A/N: this isn't the FULL lyrics. I took some of them out just so that it wouldn't make the chapter SUPER long). **

_"Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did"_

_ Ha!_  
_ Time for a little revenge_

_ The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and..._  
_ I had it all, I had him right where I wanted him_  
_ She came along, got him alone and let's hear the applause_  
_ She took him faster than you could say "sabotage"_

_ I never saw it coming, wouldn't have suspected it_  
_ I underestimated just who I was dealing with_  
_ She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum_  
_ She underestimated just who she was stealing from_

Annabeth seemed overwhelmed in the moment. She was singing her heat, all the anger that she had been feeling fueling her energy. The crowd ate her preformance up, some standing up and cheering, others trying hard to laugh, as if they know who Annabeth was thinking about.

_ She's not a saint_  
_ And she's not what you think_  
_ She's an actress, whoa_  
_ She's better known_  
_ For the things that she does_  
_ On the mattress, whoa_

Rachel looked as if she was going to blow a vein. She was gripping the armrest on the chair, giving Annabeth the worst death glare that she could manage, but Annabeth thought it was hilarious. In fact, it made her enjoy singing even more.

_Soon she's gonna find_  
_ Stealing other people's toys_  
_ On the playground won't_  
_ Make you many friends_  
_ She should keep in mind_  
_ She should keep in mind_  
_ There is nothing I do better than revenge_

Annabeth began to do small dance moves as she continued the song.

_ She looks at life like it's a party and she's on the list_  
_ She looks at me like I'm a trend and she's so over it_  
_ I think her ever-present frown is a little troubling_  
_ And she thinks I'm psycho 'cause I like to rhyme her name with things_

_ But sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know_  
_ Or pushing people down it gets you where you wanna go_  
_ They wouldn't teach you that in prep school so it's up to me_  
_ But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity_

She could see the embarrassment in both Percy and Rachel's eyes and for a second, she almost felt _pitiful _about what she was doing. But just for a second because she saw Rachel reach for Percy's hands. Annabeth rolled her eyes and continued singing.

_I'm just another thing for you_  
_ To roll your eyes at, honey_  
_ You might have him but haven't you heard_  
_ I'm just another thing for you_  
_ To roll your eyes at, honey_  
_ You might have him but I always get the last word_  
_ Whoa_

Annabeth held the note for as long as she could, the energy from the crowd feeding off of it. The majority of the audience members were standing up, cheering up Annabeth as she finished the song.

_Let's hear the applause_  
_ Come on show me how much better you are (so much better, yeah)_  
_ So you deserve some applause 'cause you're so much better_  
_ She took him faster than you could say "sabotage"_

When the song was finished, the crowd went wilder and crazier than Annabeth ever expected. Most of them had stood up, cheering and whistling, their energy at their peak. As for Annabeth's friend, their reactions varied: some had stood up, cheering and yelling Annabeth's name (i.e. Travis and Connor), a few were just smirking at Percy and Rachel and others, like Thalia or Katie, were staring dumbstruck at Annabeth as if that was the most fantastic thing that they have ever seen. Annabeth just laughed, giving Percy and Rachel a very arrogant grin before heading back to her friends.

She was immediately greeted by Travis and Connor. "Man, talk about badass!" Travis shouted, patting Annabeth on the back.

"Yeah!" Connor joined in, "Who knew this uptight psycho had some fun in her?" Annabeth glared at Connor and Travis, but shrugged. It was the closet thing to a compliment that she would ever get from them.

Then, she faced Thalia, Katie and Silena, who greeted with hugs. "Annie, you're crazy!" Silena shouted, chuckling.

"Annie, you're _awesome_," Thalia corrected.

"Annabeth, you're insane!" Katie added.

"And Annabeth, you're a total bitch!" Shouted someone, and it _wasn't _Annabeth's friend. Annabeth stiffened, along with Thalia, Katie and Silena. The room seemed to fall silent as they watched the drama ensue.

Annabeth turned slowly to stare down Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who was clutching a nearly comatose Percy Jackson. Rachel seemed to half angry and half upset, her face red with frustration and her eyes red with tears. Annabeth, however, felt no sympathy, no compassion.

"You're the one to talk, Dare," Katie snapped.

"Oh please! It's one thing to take your anger out on _me_ but to do that to Percy?" Rachel glanced at her boyfriend. Percy seemed to wake up a little at the sound of his name to the point of being able to comprehend and assess the situation, although he remained silent.

"First of all, that song had _nothing _to do with Percy. It was all about the girl, the psychotic bitch girl, that stole _my _boyfriend. It wasn't about the guy that got played by a stupid slutty whore!"

"Annabeth, that's enough!" Percy shouted, tearing away from Rachel, who was just as surprised as everyone else that Percy was _yelling _at Annabeth.

Percy took a couple of steps forward toward his very angry ex-girlfriend. "How could you be so heartless?!"

Annabeth chuckled without humor. "I'm heartless?! You. Cheated. On. Me. You made out with the girl that terrorized my life for years and then tried to pass off as my friend again. And you call _me _the heartless one? I thought I could trust you. I thought I could always rely on you, like the way that Thalia can rely Luke, or Silena can rely on Beckendorf! I thought that you were the one!" Annabeth felt her voice shake a little and a single tear trickled down her face. "But I guess I was wrong. I guess that Rachel was one for you."_  
_

"Annabeth, you broke up with me! I didn't want things to end between," Percy said, urgently.

"Did you expect me to stay with you?! After everything you did to me and everything that I've been through her? I'm not stupid! I would never stay with _anyone_ who cheated on me and I'm sure that that would go for any other girl here."

Percy seemed to shift tones and now it sounded as if he was begging for forgiveness. "Annabeth, please-."

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped. "I can't just forgive you after you did something like that!"

Percy sighed, "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I don't care, because you did. You know, Jason and Luke and Thalia and Malcolm and all my other friends were right. I am better than you."

"Annabeth!"

"Percy, don't you get?!" Annabeth stared into Percy's bruiting and beautiful sea green eyes, which were swimming with tears. "We're over. End of discussion.

**Dun, dun, duhhhhh!**

**Anyway, whoa, another long chapter!**

**Sorry for the _wordy _ending but I mean, you can understand it, can't you? But hey, Annabeth is starting to accept the end of her relationship with Percy...but not for long! Just wait until next chapter :)**

**Anyway, let's review! Let's get as much as we did last time! I know you guys can do it! Because your awesome and the best readers ever! **

**The oneshot will be posted probably in a couple of days, and so will an update on Goode High School for Insane Youths (hopefully).**

**Until next time!**

**~Juicyfruity39**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey amazing readers! I'm seriously going to be updating this story like a crazy lady! We are literally 7 chapters (not including this one) away from finishing the story and I am SO excited to the write the ending, and I hope you guys are excited to read the ending!**

**IMPORTANT QUESTION: would you guys read a story that I would write about Pretty Little Liars? After I finish this story, I wanna start a PLL story (since I'm obsessed with it) and also when I'm finished with New Kid at Goode High School, I'm starting another PJO story.**

**The story would be Spencer-centric and really mysterious and suspenseful.**

**Anyway, the question is would you guys read my PLL story?**

**Anybody that does answer in a review will get a preview of the next chapter!**

**So answer the question. Please :)**

_Previously on NKGHS_

_Percy sighed, "I never wanted to hurt you."_

_"I don't care, because you did. You know, Jason and Luke and Thalia and Malcolm and all my other friends were right. I am better than you."_

_"Annabeth!"_

_"Percy, don't you get?!" Annabeth stared into Percy's bruiting and beautiful sea green eyes, which were swimming with tears. "We're over. End of discussion._

* * *

_Chapter 25_

Annabeth stormed out of the cafe, fuming with anger. Did Percy really think that Annabeth would just forgive him after what he did to her? Did he expect that everything would be fine and dandy after an apology?! She figured that that's why she called him Seaweed Brain. Always looking for the easier way out, always assuming that after a little hard everything would be okay. That was the naive way of thinking, the 'television' way of thinking as Annabeth liked to call it.

But reality bites...hard. And Percy just got the front row ticket to reality, and it wasn't fun for him.

Annabeth still felt bad for saying all those things to Percy. She still felt guilty for being so mad at him and for crushing him into pieces, but she felt as if it was necessary. She knew that she had to stop Percy from toying with her emotions, even though it clearly didn't really work to her advantage. Annabeth was hoping to let it off easy, let him know that he has to stop bothering her so that she can move on. Instead, Annabeth practically yelled at Percy, which must have destroyed him.

Either way, Annabeth got what she wanted.

Luke seemed to appear out of thin air next to air. Annabeth jumped a little, surprised by his sudden appearance, but she knew that he must have went to her while she was busy thinking about Percy. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Define: okay."

Luke sighed, "You wanna go home?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. But what about Thalia?"

Luke shrugged, opening the door for her, "She said Katie and the Stolls would give her a ride. She's only about a block away from their house. They didn't mind." Luke helped Annabeth inside and buckled her up.

"I do know how to do that Luke," Annabeth said, smiling.

Luke rolled his eyes, suppressing a grin and went to the driver's seat. He started the car, the engine a slow purr and pulled out. They sat in silence, the radio off, the air conditioning blasting a soft hum of air. Annabeth looked up at Luke's eyes and she could see how sad he was. She could tell that he didn't want to be here, and that he would rather have Thalia in his arms.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth whispered. She felt as if she had an obligation to apologize to Luke, although he looked a little upset that she thought it was necessary.

Luke shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's not big deal."

"I shouldn't have torn you away from Thalia."

"Hey, I thought I told you not to worry about it," Luke rested his hand on Annabeth's. "Beside it was Thalia's idea for me to drive you home, and I would have done it anyway. Look, I care about you Annabeth so don't think you have to apologize for that."

"Well, thanks for being there."

Luke shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Hey, if I was going through what you were going through, I know you would be there for me, too."

Annabeth smiled, "I'm glad there's at least one guy in this world that I can count on."

Luke sighed, "Look, Annabeth, you know that's not true. So what if this thing with Percy didn't work out? There's someone else out there that's going to be better than him and not make the stupid mistake that Percy made. Someone out there is going to appreciate you for who you are and they're not going to leave you for someone else. I promise."

"And what if there isn't?"

Luke squeezed her hand. "There is Annabeth. Besides, someone as awesome as you could never be single. You're probably going to find a boyfriend by the end of this week!"

Annabeth grinned, chuckling. "I don't know about that. I think all the nice ones are taken."

"I don't know about that Annie. I'm sure that Leo would be happy to go out with an upperclassmen, especially one that's as beautiful and bright like you. I bet I can talk to Jason and Piper and they can hook you two up."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "I think I'm done with blind dates."

"Technically it's not a blind date if you know who it's going to be with. Just look at that date with Travis. Thalia and I technically said that you would be having dinner with him."

Annabeth scoffed, "And Connor. And Nico and everyone else. But it turns out that it was just Travis and I."

Luke shrugged, "It's a minor detail that was simply 'overlooked.' Besides, I will fully inform you that it will be Leo. Or maybe Connor. Oh, how about Nico?"

"How about you shut it?"

"I'm just trying to help, Annie."

"You're so helpful," she retorted, earning an eye rolling from Luke. "Besides, I just don't think I'm ready for it, you know. I'm not ready to get back out there and to meet new people. I can't even get over Percy and Rachel getting together. I can't forget about that day when I saw them. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe I should waited and let the chips fall were they may."

The two seemed to arrive at Annabeth's house. Luke parked the car and turned to look at his best friend. "Look, Annabeth, don't say that. You did what was right, and that was making sure that Percy knows that he can't get away from things like that."

"But I loved him Luke! I should have just ignored it."

"No you shouldn't have, okay!" Luke urged. "You put Percy in his place."

"Which happened to be in Rachel's arms."

"Annabeth, you are better than Rachel and Percy. You _know _that! So stop thinking about it and let it go!"

"Luke, I can't just let something like that go!" Annabeth shouted.

"I understand that but-."

"You understand nothing, Luke!" Annabeth argued, completely and utterly outraged. "You don't know what it's like to lose someone you love like this! You don't know what it's like to feel betrayed and alone! You think you understand what I'm-."

"I do understand!" Luke spat, and Annabeth was stunned to silence. She had never seen Luke this angry at her, "Just because I didn't lose a girlfriend like that doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to feel betrayed and alone. Just look at my family, Annabeth! My mother is an asylum halfway across the country and my father doesn't care about it, or me! Just because you're hurting right now doesn't mean that you have a monopoly on pain!"

Time seemed to freeze the two of them. Luke was fuming in anger and pain, and Annabeth was too busy gawking at him to come up with anything brilliant to stop the arguing. She was just too shocked. She's known Luke for nearly ten years and he's only brought up his mother once.

May Castellan.

She was Luke's elusive mother, who was only a vague memory of Luke's. He was only six when she had her first...psychotic attack. Luke doesn't know most of the story since his dad didn't want to tell him when he was so young and when Luke was older he never asked but from what Hermes did tell Luke, apparently May had had a 'vision.' Apparently she had seen Luke in utter pain, completely alone with no one there to love him. Afterwards, May seemed to have lost it. Eventually, she was enlisted in a mental health institute and Luke never heard from her again.

"You should go," Luke whispered, breaking the miserable silence between the two.

Annabeth's heart broke as she heard the pain in Luke's voice. "Luke, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-."

"Annabeth," Luke said, cutting her off. "Just go! Don't make this any harder than it is."

Annabeth sighed, fighting back tears as she stepped out of Luke's car. She wanted so desperately to say something so that he could forgive her. She had already lost Percy, who was one of the most important people to her in the world, and now she was losing Luke.

"Call me?" Annabeth whispered. Luke shrugged, shutting the door behind her and before Annabeth could say anything to stop him, Luke was speeding away.

Annabeth stared at his car for a while, watching as it disappeared in the sea of traffic. She tried to laugh, hoping that it might suppress her tears but she could feel them coming and she ran up to her apartment. She unlocked with a quick, fluid motion and slammed the door behind her. At first, she took deep breaths, attempting to calm herself.

_You really screwed it up this time, didn't you, Annie? _She thought to herself. _First you had to embarrass Rachel, then you had to yell at Percy and then you had to argue with Luke, who was one of the only people that was always there for her. _And in a second, Annabeth was crumbled against her wall, sobbing.

Heartbroken, horrible sobs.

She seemed to wait for her knight in shining armor to appear, to pick up her crumbled body and broken pieces and mend.

But she knew she would be waiting for too long, because all the people that she could rely on, like Percy or Luke, she pushed away.

And so Annabeth laid, crying, brokenhearted all night.

* * *

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Percy asked as he picked at the taco that Nico and Grover had gotten him in hopes of comforting their best friend. "She really hates me now, doesn't she?"

Nico shrugged. "Nah. I'm pretty sure she hates Rachel, but not you!"

Grover, who had just finished adding nearly every topping on his enchilada, walked over to Nico and Percy. "Oh yeah, she does! Come on, Nico, don't lie to the kid!" Grover sat down, stuffing his face with a ginormous bite of food. "Rut ron ra 'ight side, Rannaneth rates Rachel more."

Nico groaned, "Grover, we came here to make Percy feel better. Not get on his food all over him. What did you even say?"

Grover shrugged, "I said, 'on the bright side, Annabeth hates Rachel more.'"

"Wow, Grover," Percy said, miserably, "You're so helpful."

"Look, Perce, I love you man but you have to admit that what you did to Annie was pretty cruel," Grover pointed out.

"Grover!" Nico swatted at his friend.

Percy sighed, "No, Grover is right. What I did to Annabeth as pretty awful. And don't get me wrong, I loved her and I still do, but sometimes Annabeth was just so stubborn and refuses to see it any other way but her own. If she just step into my shoes and try to understand what was happening."

"Perce," Grover set his hand on Percy's back, "I'm going to be brutally honest with you, and I mean _brutally _honest with you. Man, you have no excuse for what you did to her. That was cold, even for Rachel, alright and it's not going to be easy for Annabeth to just fogive her. I'm still on your side and I still think that Annabeth should hear you out, but you can't keep coming up with excuses like, 'she needs to understand the moment' or whatever, because really, you have no excuse for what you did."

"And what are you suggesting I do? Get on my knees and beg for forgiveness?"

"If that's what it takes. Look, I've known Annabeth my entire life. I can tell when she's in love with someone and when she's in heartbroken pain. And right now she's feeling both. Annabeth loves you, Percy and this is just as hard for her as it is for you. So, instead of saying that Annabeth should step into your shoes, perhaps you start with stepping into hers."

**(PAGE BREAK)**

The next day, Annabeth woke up to find herself on her bed. She didn't remember getting up from the kitchen floor and walking herself into her room. All she could remember the was blinding pain that she was feeling. She ran her fingers through her hair several times before stepping out of her bed, noticing that she was still wearing the same clothes that she was from yesterday.

Annabeth was glad that today was a Saturday and that she didn't have to go and face Percy, Rachel and Luke. To be honest, Annabeth wouldn't mind getting into a little cage match with Dare, but as for Percy and Luke...well, she was just too emotionally drained to fight with either of them. Her argument with Luke was knawing at her heart, twisting it and breaking it over and over again.

She was sitting at the kitchen tale, milking a bowl of cereal, eyeing her cell phone occasionally. She wanted to call Luke and apologize and try to work through this, but a part of her knew that Luke would need a little bit more than just a day to work past his anger. She and Luke hardly ever fight and when they do it hits both of them pretty hard.

At that moment, the door to the guest bedroom opened up Malcolm stepped out, his pajamas on, his hair ruffled and messy. "Oh, you're awake."

Annabeth shrugged. "Been up for a little while."

"Did you just pour that?" Malcolm asked, gesturing toward the bowl of mushy cereal.

"No...it's been sitting here mocking my stomach for thirty minutes."

Malcolm sighed, "You wanna tell me what happened last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Annie! Look, I opened the door and almost gave you a concussion! You were curled on the kitchen floor, your eyes bright red and sniffling, whispering, 'what have I done? What have I done?'"

Annabeth blushed. "And what did you do?"

"I took you to your room, and you didn't answer my question."

Annabeth shrugged. "I got in a fight with Percy and Luke, and I guess I just couldn't handle."

"I'm sorry, you fought with Luke? Luke, Luke? _The _Luke? The one you never fight with?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what happened. One second we were getting along great and the next he was just so angry and emotional and then before I knew I was here. Last night was just one big blur of pain. And it was all my fault."

"No it wasn't Annabeth. If anyone is to blame, it's Rachel and Percy for doing that to you. It's not your fault that you're hurting."

"Yeah, but the things that I said to Luke was-."

"Was your way of trying to understand and deal with your emotions. Look, you and Luke are inseparable and I'm sure that this will just blow over in the long run. Look, Luke cares about you and he'll forgive you."

"And if he doesn't? I can't lose him, too."

"Annabeth, you're not going to lose him!" Malcolm rested his hand on his younger sister's. "I promise."

Annabeth smiled, but she was still doubtful. She sighed, standing up and clearing her bowl of uneaten cereal, "I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah. I'm just going for a walk. Maybe down to the market. I think we're out of milk."

Annabeth was eager to get out of the house and to get away from her prying brother. She knew that he was only looking out for her, but she couldn't help but get annoyed by him. All she wanted was a little time, some privacy even and Malcolm could hardly give that to her. Of course Annabeth knew that Malcolm had good intentinos, but she did want some space.

"Annabeth?" Someone called out.

Annabeth froze and she turned, hoping it was Luke but a very pessimistic part of her knew that it wasn't. She would have recognized his voice, and this was unfamiliar.

Annabeth gasped as she stared at the last person that she ever expected to see. "Mark?" She asked. Mark, Rachel's ex-boyfriend, was staring at her. He looked different than the last that she had seen him. Usually Mark was always wearing some bad buy outfit to go with Rachel's sluttiness, but today Mark seemed to look normal. He was wearing jeans, a white and then a brown jacket over it. "What are you doing here?"

"Just walking around."

"No, I mean, why are you talking to me?"

Mark sighed, although he didn't look hurt or offended by Annabeth's very straight forward question. "I heard about what happened at the cafe, and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Annabeth couldn't help but hide her shock. She was confused by Mark's sudden smypathy and kindness toward her. Usually, he just followed Rachel's lead and would only degrade Annabeth even further than what Rachel has done and mark her feel worse. "What?"

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay," Mark reiterated. "If anyone knows how cruel and malicious Rachel can be, it's me. She can really tear a person down if she wants to."

Annabeth sighed, "I'm fine I guess."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Annabeth shrugged, but she couldn't help blurted out what she was thinking. "God, how could I be so stupid? Thinking that Rachel would care about me after everything we've been there. Aren't I supposed to be the smart one?! Shouldn't I have seen this coming? And look at me now! I lost the person I love and just humiliated myself in front of the entire junior class! I'm so stupid!"

"No you're not," Mark disagreed, "Trusting someone isn't stupid. The stupid person is Rachel. If I were her, I would have never walked away from you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Weren't you Rachel little puppy dog? Didn't you do everything that she told you to and believed everything that she said?"

Mark shrugged. "I thought what Rachel and I had was real. I thought she truly loved me and wasn't just playing me for the fun of it and then dump when a better offer comes along! After hearing how hurt she was because of you, I figured that you were enemy and suddenly everything that I focused on was making sure that you were away from Rachel and getting back at you for hurting her. I never realized that the mean girl was really Rachel. And I'm sorry."

"That explains a lot," Annabeth mumbled.

"It does?"

"I could say the same thing about Percy. He seemed to think that befriending and forgiving Rachel was a good idea, even though a part of me just knew that it would end it would so badly but I ignored that feeling because of him."

"Love makes you do crazy things."

Annabeth sighed, "Too bad our love wasn't real. And now their together."

Mark shrugged. He looked into Annabeth's eyes and smiled. "I'm sure there are better offers out there."

Annabeth scoffed. "Like who?"

"You...," Mark mumbled.

"W-what...," Annabeth trailed off. She was surprised by Mark's sudden openness and suddenly, it was like the beginning of the year when she had that weird urge to kiss Percy. She had that seem feeling. She was having that weird urge to kiss Mark.

And suddenly, all common sense she was strictly being motivated by disappointment and crazy, stupid love. Before Annabeth could even _think _of the consequences, she leaned in and before she knew it, she and Mark were kissing.

**Whoa. Holy damn. Cliffie, much?**

**Mark and Annabeth?! Who saw ****_that _****coming?**

**Haha, what'd you think of my little 'crazy, stupid love' title thing in there?! Pretty clever, huh XD**

**But seriously, please answer my question! I would love you guys forever!**

**I'm almost finished with Speak Now and the oneshot so I'll be posting those hopefully pretty sure. Goode High School for Insane Youths is still working progress but I'll update it quickly.**

**And seriously if you review quickly **

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**


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